Cinnamon vanilla pecan butter (with a guest bear!)

Such an exciting weekend!  We are dog sitting for some friends.  This is the future father of Appolonia's unborn pups:

George, Dan's new BFF

Isn't he precious?!  I have such a sweet spot for animals.  

I heart big dogs

I was in a cooking kind of mood this weekend.  I made a recipe with some heirloom carrots, but I wanted to share this one with you first because it is one of my five food groups.  (bacon, eggs, fruit, veggies and NUT BUTTERS!)  This recipe stemmed from my obsession with peanut butter. Before this recipe, I used to eat about a jar every 2 weeks! 

 I was on a normal trip to the DeKalb County farmers market. They sell all kinds of gorgeous nuts in bulk (almonds, pistachios, brazil nuts, pine nuts, and pecans.)  I started thinking about what I could do with the mass of pecans I bought.  Cinnamon vanilla pecan butter was born! This recipe is so easy and requires very few ingredients.

Roasted deliciousness!

Cinnamon vanilla pecan butter

One lb pecans (halves or pieces)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon good vanilla

5 packs of truvia or 1 tablespoon honey, sugar or Splenda* see cooks note 

Almond or walnut oil* see cooks note

Tips:

*Choose pure vanilla extract over imitation vanilla.  It makes such a difference!  

*I used truvia in this recipe.  If you aren't familiar with it, you should look into it.  It is a natural no calorie sweetener made from the Stevia plant.  (Check it out at http://www.truvia.com/)   Feel free to substitute for any sweetener that you prefer.

 *As far as the oil goes, I didn't include an amount because it varies for how thick or thin you like your nut butter.  I used 2 and 1/2 tablespoons for my recipe.  Add the oil in slowly until you get the consistency you like. There are some really delicious nut oils out there.  You can buy them at the farmer's market, whole foods, or in the organic section of any nice grocery store. Use whatever sounds good to you.  Just don't use olive oil!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I roast the pecans first to develop the flavor.  Put your pecan pieces on a cookie sheet pan and roast them for 6-8 minutes.  Keep checking them because they can burn easily.  When you can smell them, they are done.  Let them cool down for a few minutes.  Once cool, put them in a food processor and add the salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and the sweetener of your choice.

Pulse a few times to incorporate the ingredients.  Your mixture should look something like this:

Put the top on the food processor and turn it on. Using the opening on the top of your food processor,  slowly add the oil in a thin stream.  I would recommend adding about 1/2 teaspoon at a time and then checking the consistency.  You can always add more oil.  It is difficult to fix a runny nut butter! At the end of the process you should have something that looks kind of like this:

Hopefully your family's reaction will be similar to this:

Pecan delirium

This makes about 2 cups.  Enjoy!