All dry nuts can be ground into a buttery paste called nut butter, which
has multiple uses from breakfast to dessert. Roasting nuts before grinding them into nut butter adds a depth of flavor. (See How to Roast Nuts Recipe.) Cooking Light magazine suggests these pairings for nut butters: almond butter and apples; cashew butter and vegetables; hazelnut butter and chocolate; macadamia nut butter and desserts; pecan butter and meat; pistachio butter and cream cheese. Yield: 1 cup nut butter.
Ingredients:
1 cup nut pieces, raw or roasted (whole nuts are more expensive and are unnecessary for this purpose)
Optional additions: 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp honey
Instructions:
Place nut pieces in a food processor. Add salt and honey. Process on low speed at first, then faster, until a mass pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Some nuts become butter in less than a minute; some take several minutes. Store in an airtight covered container in the fridge.
Want to find more uses for nuts? See Using Healthy Nuts in the Kitchen: 3 Easy Nut Recipes.
Photo By Tim Nauman