I kinda have an obsession with nut butter. I love everything about it – it’s creaminess, nuttiness, and the way that it tastes devilishly good slathered on practically anything. One of my favourite all-time energy boosting snacks is a sweet banana dipped and slathered with silky smooth almond butter. Even though I love almond butter in all its glory I sometimes like to branch out and experiment with other types of nuts – am I ever glad I did.
This Pecan Cashew Butter is maybe the most decadent nut butter I have ever made. It is out of this world creamy from the cashews and super rich in subtle flavours from the pecans. The mixture of the slowly roasted pecans and cashews make a magic nut butter that makes the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert on its own, dipped in fruit, or slathered on warm, crispy, hearty bread. In the morning, I often have a tablespoon of Pecan Cashew Butter alongside my morning smoothie such as my favourite Tropical Green Smoothie – best way to start the day ever.
But let’s get real, my favourite way to enjoy this Pecan Cashew Butter is straight from the jar. If you have difficulty with portion control and nut butters (am I the only one!?) I find that measuring the amount I want to eat out first and putting it away before I devour the whole jar helps, but sometimes I just can’t seem to help myself. This Pecan Cashew Butter is legit 😉
One of the biggest complaints I hear about making nut butters at home is the difficulty in processing the nuts. No problems here, the pecans and cashews practically melt in the food processor after being scraped down only a couple of times. I whipped this pecan cashew butter up in under 30 minutes flat – from the time I was roasting the nuts on the stove to when they were perfectly melted in my food processor. To save some time, I carefully roasted the pecans and cashews on a pan instead of sticking them in the oven. I prefer this method because it saves time and is much easier to control the amount that the pecans and cashews are roasted. I also find it easier to ensure that the nuts are evenly roasted without any burnt bits – something that always happens to me when I use the traditional oven roasting method.
My blog posts have been a bit sporadic lately – the end of my semester is coming up and the amount of papers I have to write and articles I have to read seem to never come to an end (#graduatestudentlife). I just keep envisioning holding that piece of paper in my hand in just over a year when all this work will be worth it! But seriously, my papers are calling me! Sending out good vibes to all the students out there – we got this 😀
Pecan Cashew Butter is one of the easiest nut butters to make – the pecans and cashews practically melt in the food processor. I prefer to warm my nuts up on a skillet or pan on medium to high heat on the stove top over the traditional oven method. This ensures that the nuts are evenly roasted and do not burn (watch them closely!). Make sure to scrape down the sides of the food processor every couple of minutes or when the nuts start to build up on the sides. Give your food processor a little break after a couple of minutes if you feel that it starts to get hot. Whatever you do, do not add any water to the nuts to help them process – this will leave you with a sticky nutty goo rather than a smooth and creamy nut butter.
Ingredients
Scale
2 cups pecans (7 oz)
1 cup cashews (4 ounces)
pinch sea salt (optional)
pinch cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
Warm up a pan or skillet on medium high heat. Roast for about 8 minutes, stirring consistently to ensure the nuts do not burn and until they are beginning to lightly brown around the outside.
Add pecans and cashews to the food processor. Process, process and then process some more until your nut butter magically appears. First you will notice a course crumb appear and then a fine nut powder. After about 4 minutes you will notice that the nuts start to clump up and build up on the sides of the food processor. Scrape down the sides when necessary with a spatula. When you are starting to lose all hope and you do not want to pulse or scrape any longer your pecan cashew butter should appear after about 10 minutes.
Once you have a nut butter consistency, pulse until you reach your desired texture. I prefer a runny nut butter so I tend to process my nuts for about an extra 5 minutes in the food processor.
Add sea salt or cinnamon (optional).
Devour, Share and Enjoy 🙂
Notes
A healthy dose of healthy fats and manganese – plus a zero cholesterol snack!
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