RECIPE: Roasted Pecan Butter

This was a happy accident. While making this dessert for friends over the New Year and once more for a friend who just gave birth to her second beautiful daughter, I stumbled about a deeply rich, salted pecan butter. The original dessert called for a pecan crumb to layer the bottom of a warm apple pie pot. Salted and roasted pecans were pulsed until warm and crumbly and then layered with honeyed apples and whipped cream. Never one to leave anything at the bottom of a bowl, I scraped the remains of the food-processed pecans and struck gold! I had made nut butter and it tasted better than anything I had ever bought at the store. The intensely satisfying flavor lingered on my mind until I was able to make a full-on batch. This time, I added a little wildflower honey and slathered it on apples, pears, whatever I could find. Then, I ate it by the spoonful until it was gone. That, too, was a happy accident.

Roasted Pecan Butter
2 cups raw pecan halves
1 tablespoon of ghee
sea salt
4 tablespoons wildflower honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium pot, melt the ghee. Add the pecans and toss to coat completely. Spread pecans over a baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle a generous pinch of salt over the pecans, about 3/4 teaspoon. Place into the oven and roast 10-15 minutes until they deepen in color. Be careful not to overdo it. Pecans will go from perfectly roasted to black, burnt and bitter in an instant. Keep a close eye on them. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely. Place pecans into food processor and process until a thick paste forms. Add honey and process some more. Taste and add more salt or honey according to your preference.