Good morning!
No one wanted to get out of bed this morning…especially Sketchie! We woke up to quite the snow storm.
I was feeling a bit congested this morning, so I came down to the kitchen and made myself a delicious Classic Green Monster amped up with a 1/2 cup of frozen organic blueberries (that I saved from the Farmer’s Market in the summer). It was a delicious and energizing way to start the weekend on the right track.
Oh, I also had a bit of Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter in the mix too…
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Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter
Quite possibly the smoothest, silkiest, and richest nut butter I have ever tasted. This is a definite show stopper with an intense chocolate taste.
Yield: 1 cup
Adapted from Dark Chocolate Almond Butter.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil (or other oil may work)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
Directions: Toast 2 cups of raw pecans for 10 minutes at 325F. Watch closely so you do not burn them. Place the 2 cups of toasted pecans into a food processor. Process for about 5-10 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl every minute or as necessary. The toasted pecans will form into a butter much faster than the almonds do.
Just before your pecan butter is ready, add the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1 tsp of coconut oil to a small pot. Melt on low. You want to remove the pot from heat when there are still some chocolate chip clumps remaining. Don’t worry they will melt as you stir the mixture. I always take it off the heat a bit early to avoid burning the chocolate.
Add the melted chocolate to the pecan butter (still in the processor) and process for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add your kosher salt to taste and process more. Scoop into a container and store in the fridge. Makes 1 cup of Dark Chocolate Pecan Butter. Refrigerate. Note that the pecan butter firms up in the fridge. Allow it to sit at room temperature to soften before using.
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Toast your pecans for about 9-10 mins at 325F.
Process the pecans in a food processor for about 5-10 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The toasted pecans will turn into pecan butter much faster than the almonds do!
This was after about 5 minutes…
Add in the melted chocolate and coconut oil into the pecan butter…
And process for another 1-2 minutes. Season with kosher salt to taste.
You will be left with silky, smooth, buttery, and intensely chocolaty pecan butter. I had to hide this from myself deep in my refrigerator!! Oh my, is this a good nut butter.
Coming up, a delicious Curried Lentil Soup recipe I have made a few times over the past few weeks, but have yet to share…
Also, coming up….I will talk about my Winter 2011 training plan and the homemade Light box we made this week…
Nerd alert!
Have a great Saturday!
Dark chocolate pecan butter sounds amazing! I can’t wait to hear all about your light box. I still want to make one :)
I so need to make a lightbox! There is almost no light here for months on end and my photos look so unhappy! Can’t wait for the curried lentil recipe . . .
Wow. I don’t have words for how delicious that looks.
Note to self: must make additions to grocery list. :)
AHH major drool action over that pecan butter!
So, I just made you chocolate almond butter (with white chocolate chips because I didn’t have enough semi-sweet) and it is AMAZING! I will be making a stop at Trader Joe’s this week to pick up some pecans to make this one! YUM!
Glad you like it!!! I’m obsessed…straight from the fridge it is almost like a frosting
Mmm that pecan butter looks delish. Just curious…are there any nuts that’s dont work so well to make into a butter?
Good question…Ive only used peanuts, pecans, and almonds I think…I have tried sunflower seeds a couple times and it was a horrible fail. No matter how long I processed i could not get them to turn into butter…just a powder.
Uh oh….I made a lightbox last week, and you are in for some serious camera fun!
Yummm! Definitely giving this ago — I’m so glad I’m not allergic to pecans :-)
mmmm that darkchocolate pecan butter looks amazing!
You are inspiring me to make some nut butters! I need to do that asap!!
By the way, how long do your homemade nut butters usually stay good for?
I would imagine as long as regular natural nut butters…which I am not sure of, but they rarely last more than a month or so in this house!
awesome nut butter, once again! thanks for sharing….
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
ps. SO jealous about that light box!
Looks delicious! I’m excited to try my first Green Monster today!
That nut butter looks AMAZING. I starred it!
I have been wanting to make a light box! I can’t wait to hear more!
Hi Angela,
I really enjoy your blog and many ideas to cook vegan free – I have been lactose intolerant for just over a year, so I really appreciate new ideas to get a cheesey taste without the cheese! I was just wondering do you use milk free chocolate in your recipes — and if so where do you get it? I find that most chocolate chips etc.. have milk in them ! Thanks!
Thanks Katie!
I buy vegan dark choc chips from Ontario Natural Food Coop (it is their own brand I believe).
Yay for homemade light boxes!
It’s a good thing I don’t have any chocolate chips in the house because I’d be making this and eating it with a spoon!
Mmmm *toasted* nuts for the PB. Yum!!
Those light boxes are really making the rounds in the blogosphere. Look forward to hearing what you think about them!
I made a green curry lentil soup I got from another food blogger on my break! SOO good! And I live in the “lentil capital of the world” so I’m excited to try yours out as well!
YUM! I tried the nut butter, it was even better than I thought it would be, and I was convinced it would be delicious :)
Now I just have to stop slathering it on everything…toast, apple slices, biscuits, sandwiches…ahhh. Thanks for the always awesome recipes.