The past week has felt like a failed attempt at finding balance. I spent the week before last on glorious holiday with two guy friends in gorgeous Crested Butte, Colorado. It was a vacation in every sense of the word; each day began with a big, home-cooked breakfast, followed by a long, easy-going game of Scrabble with frequent mimosa refills. We soaked in a steaming hot tub at least once daily, surrounded by snow and those mountains, the sleeping giants whose mercurial personalities shifted as the sun rotated overhead. We savored the best pizza of our lives at Secret Stash—it was the kind of food that, once delivered, hushes all conversation except for occasional slips of profanity between bites. I squeezed into my mom’s retro one-piece ski suit and skied down the green slopes, making it down the mountain with all parts intact. In short, it was marvelous.
The following week, last week, was spent in a wretched state of catch-up from the week before. Deadline was rapidly approaching and I worked, hunched over my laptop, from the time I woke up to the time I dragged myself to bed. Warm memories from the last week made it possible to accept the situation, but it is absolutely not how I want to live. By the time I finished working late in the afternoon on Sunday, I sought out some companionship. Sometimes you just have to stop what you’re doing, climb onto the roof with a friend and sip on some cheap Champagne, am I right?
Deadline has passed, and I find myself overwhelmed by other projects (please join The Food Matters Project!), but I’ll make it. This weekend has been all about finding balance: stretching out my poor back with Pilates, dancing around to my friends’ band at a dive bar and tackling the disgusting pile of dishes that is taking over my kitchen.
I’ve already typed up more than I intended, but let me tell you about this pecan butter. The idea for pecan butter came to me on the drive back from Colorado, right after I’d awoken to see mountain goats outside the window. I munched on a cracker, then a couple of pecans that Peach Crest Farm had gifted Matt for Christmas. The Peach Crest Farm pecans are extraordinary; one taste of those fresh, local, organic pecans convinced me that every pecan I’ve ever tasted has been rancid with old age. My grandmother Mimi‘s family owned a pecan farm and she adored pecans. Now I know why.
I munched on a couple more pecans, and another cracker, wishing I could smear the pecans on top like peanut butter. Bingo! Pecan butter. One quick google search confirmed that it could be done, but no one has given pecan butter the attention it deserves.
I’ve tried to make peanut butter before with disappointing result, but not so here. Pecan butter is the least finicky all-natural nut butter I’ve come across. Toasted pecans meld together in a food processor, turning into silky smooth, spreadable nutty goodness with maple undertones, without any added oil. A pinch of salt and a dash of cinnamon at the end make it positively divine.
If you love pecans like I do, you must give this a try. It is truly luscious. Pecans are not cheap, but I assure you that pecan butter is worth every penny. It is liquid gold. Might I suggest that you slather it on a piece of my favorite honey-sweetened banana bread, as I have every morning this week? It makes a healthy breakfast that tastes almost as decadent as a piece of cake.
- 8 ounces (about two cups) high quality pecans, either whole or in pieces
- sea salt, to taste
- dash of cinnamon
- Pour the pecans into a large skillet and toast, stirring often, over medium heat until fragrant. This will take about 4 to 8 minutes.
- Pour the toasted pecans into a food processor and blend, pausing to scrape down the sides with a spatula often. It will be crumbly at first, but will eventually blend into super-creamy goodness after ten to fifteen minutes.
- Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of cinnamon. Blend again, taste, and add more salt or cinnamon if needed.
- Pour into a small jar, seal it with a lid, and store it in the refrigerator for good measure.
- Yields one cup. Feel free to to double or maybe even triple the amount of pecans in order to make a bigger batch. You may find it easier to toast the pecans in the oven at that point.
- This pecan butter is only as good as the pecans you put it in it. Seek out fresh pecans from a store with high turnover. Bonus points if they’re local, organic and/or stored in the refrigerator.
48 Comments
I haven’t tried this before! What a great idea!
Oh my gosh Kate, your description and photos of the pecan butter have my mouth watering! Pecans are my favorite nuts, I will have to try your recipe :)
Your time in Colorado sounds dreamy. Balance must be hard to attain after such a lovely vacation. I sure could use one myself, as I am currently buried under layers of grad school work. I bet cheap champagne would do the trick, though ;)
This looks mouth watering good. I’ve been meaning to make nut butter in general since getting a “big girl” food processor for Christmas and yet somehow I haven’t yet. This looks like a great one to start with. Easy, few ingredients and my husband is a pecan fiend!
This recipe will make you fall in love with your new food processor, I promise! And your husband will love pecan butter, no doubt about it.
Oh my goodness, I need this in my life. First thing I will be doing in the morning: making pecan butter!
ah, sounds amazing, can’t wait to try :))
If I had to choose, pecans would be my favorite kind of nut – so I really must make this pecan butter!
Loooooove pecan butter. HOLY mom.
Oh. my. goodness! During the week, I pretty much eat toast with peanut butter on a near daily basis, and as much as I love it, it gets old pretty quickly. Pecan butter would be such an easy, refreshing change of pace! I’m definitely going to have to try this (and pecans are by far my favorite nut). Thanks, Kate!!
i LOVE pecan butter! i make it every week. i have a recipe on my blog for it, too ;)
That looks beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever made pecan butter! I don’t know why not, because it sounds amazing and I’m a huge fan of any and all nut butters. Can’t wait to give it a try :)
I’m a huge fan of different nut butters and this looks like no exception! Pecans are so beautifully soft and sweet I can imagine it tastes incredible on that banana cake. Yum!
Oh my goodness! I am a nut butter lover, but I’ve never thought to try pecan butter! This looks and sounds phenomenal! Will try to make asap! Thanks, Kate!
Also, would you be able to post the recipe for the kale, mushroom and avocado frittata? It looks so scrumptious!!
P.S. I adore your blog. Your posts are wonderfully written, and the photography is beautiful!
Thanks for commenting, Veronica! My friend Matt improvised the frittata that morning, but here’s the basic concept: http://cookieandkate.com/2010/the-perfect-frittata/. Just sauté chopped kale and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes, let it cool a bit, then mix it in with the eggs and other ingredients. Bake as directed and top with sliced avocado.
I absolutely love pecans, so pecan butter sounds like a fantastic idea! It looks delicious!!
I’m so surprised that it’s just the nuts you need and it gets this creamy. I actually have a reaaaaally big bag of pecans that I got at Costco, which I’ve been worrying might go bad. This would be a perfect solution!
Ta da! It is the perfect solution. If you’re patient and scrape down the sides often, the pecan butter gets silky smooth. I was surprised, too.
Besides being easier to make, how’s pecan butter compare to peanut or almond butter as far as taste goes?
I’m a huge peanut butter fan and enjoy almond butter, but I dare say that pecan butter tastes better than both of them. Assuming that you’re using high quality pecans, it tastes incredible.
Sounds like I’m gonna have to round up some cash for some pecans then.
Pecan butter will be a perfect match for my plain bread and vanilla muffins. Thanks for a multipurpose recipe post!
Pecan butter is one I have yet to try to make, but it’s going to be next on my list for sure now!
Looks awesome!
yum love pecans
What a great idea. Looks delicious!
: ))
Jen
This pecan butter looks delicious! I love how creamy and smooth it looks. Once I make it, it’ll definitely be a new morning ritual! This is exactly what our food lovers love to see on our community page! We’d love if you’d check it out and contribute! http://bit.ly/yI0sZU Cheers!
A lovely vacation and inspiration for liquid gold? That’s the best :) It looks fantastic!
Hi Kate – I’m a new reader, and just had to drop in and tell you how gorgeous your photos are! I don’t know that I’ve ever looked into my food processor and thought “I need to take a photo of this,” but yours looks incredible :-)
I’ve made pecan butter before, and I like to describe the taste as Christmas in my mouth – it always reminds me of pecan pie and Christmas!
Thank you, Jennie! I was a photographer before a cook, but I am always trying to improve my food photos. Glad to hear that you’re following along!
Sounds like the perfect vacation. Ooo I’ll have to make this next! I’ve tossed a few pecans in with a batch of almond butter, but I’ve never made just simple ol’ pecan butter. I can’t believe how silky smooth it looks, too.
Looks rather soupy in the photos. Is that the typical consistency?
Hi Harvey, the pictures above do show the general consistency, but it is not soupy in real life. Pecan butter is more spreadable than peanut or almond butter, but definitely not drippy. It’s just ridiculously smooth!
I just made some of my own! Check it out here. Thanks for the inspiring post! I’d been putting off trying this. :)
I made a batch of pecan butter today following your recipe and it tastes heavenly! I kept eating spoonfuls out of the jar all afternoon. And I just LOVE how drippy it is. Can’t wait to try it on oatmeal, toast, apple slices, and anything else I can think of!
Isn’t it the greatest?! I think my favorite is banana bread with pecan butter. My mom recently realized that she is sensitive to peanut butter so I plan to make her some pecan butter for Mother’s Day!
Do you know how long it stays good in the fridge?
Hey Cat, I don’t know for certain but it should last about as long as whole pecans or other natural nut butters would. I think it would keep for a few months or more.
HELP! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! I tried to make this twice, and both times I ended up with a very lumpy consistency and the oil was totally separated. What did I DOOO?!!?!?
Uh oh, I’m so sorry to hear you’re having trouble! I have made pecan butter using the method described in my post about 5 times and that has never happened to me. I’m using high quality local and organic pecans, are you sure yours are still good? Could it have to do with your food processor? I’m really surprised to hear that the oil separated because the oil never separated in my batches, even after sitting in a jar for a couple of weeks. I’m baffled, truly! I’m sorry!
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! These pecans were from my husband’s aunt’s tree, but they were a Christmas gift and I had frozen them. Maybe that has something to do with it? I will try again with fresh pecans and report back!
After doing so experimenting I figured out that my pecans (which had previously been frozen) have a threshold where they go from crumbly to oily, so the next batch I caught them before they got oily. I then hand mixed in 2 tbs of coconut oil and a little honey until it was nice and creamy. It worked! The stuff is delicious!
I’m so happy because my daughter is allergic to peanuts and therefor I can’t buy pecans from the store (they all have “may contain traces of peanuts” warnings.) I can’t stand store bought nut butters, so this is a life saver!
I’m so glad you figured it out, Alida! Somewhat ironically, I just posted a coconut butter recipe today. If your daughter likes coconut, you might give that a try!
We have still a lot of pecan nuts from our tree, so I gave it a try. I don’t have a food processor- only a hand held blender- so maybe that’s why it did not turn out creamy… but it is so delicious! Just love it. I added a spoon full of date honey for a version that is a bit sweet.
Thanks for the recipe!
Just made this with pecans from my backyard and it was DELICIOUS. I did not have any cinnamon so I added a dash of vanilla extract. Thanks for posting this simple recipe, it gives me a way more practical use of the pecans falling in my backyard rather than just pecan pie!
You’re welcome, Julie! I’m so glad you love the pecan butter as much as I do. I’m just as obsessed with it this year as I was last year. I ran out of my jar this morning (it’s so good in oatmeal) so I’ll have to make more pronto. I wish I had access to a pecan tree. Fresh pecans are incredible.
After hearing how much my parents loved some pecan butter they received, I decided to make my own version for them as a present. Your recipe turned out amazing! (I made a preliminary batch to ensure later success). My friends are still surprised that it came out so well with no extra (canola) oil. I have decided to make your banana nut bread in addition to the butter for a Christmas morning treat for my family. My only question is how long do you think the flavor will be optimal when stored in the refrigerator? Not that it has a chance of surviving very long!
So glad you’re enjoying the pecan butter, Brittany! I haven’t noticed the flavor diminishing at all over time, but I’m always polishing off my batches in under a month. I wouldn’t worry too much about it!
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