Recently, a sweet friend moved away. She and I shared a love of food, cooking, wine, books, music, and our husbands were equally fond of each other. This is a rare gift. Before they left, she passed on a plethora of pantry, refrigerator and freezer items she didn’t want to pack. It was better than Christmas: a huge jar of duck fat, wonderful oils and vinegars, pancetta, sake – bags of stuff I would never buy for myself. Driving home, I felt like a traveler returning from a voyage with exotic riches.
Included in this treasure trove was a huge bag of walnuts. This friend has a recipe for a divine dense, chocolate-walnut cake. Sadly, it is a few more than five ingredients. But in her honor, I decided to do something fun, indulgent, chocolaty, but still somewhat healthy.
Calling this butter is a bit of a misnomer. It’s closer to Play-Doh in texture, but it is brilliant on toasted sourdough with sliced bananas (best after-school snack ever), on graham crackers, or as a surprise filling between cake layers. And there’s no crime in rolling some into a ball and popping it into your mouth. Maybe over a glass of red wine with a good friend.
Chocolate Walnut “Butter” Makes 1 cup
2 cups walnuts
3 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave nectar
½ tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. canola oil (If you have walnut oil, by all means, use it.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast for 6 to 8 minutes, until the walnuts just start to brown and fragrant. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes.
• In a food processor or an industrial-strength blender, add the toasted walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Pulse until combined, about 2 minutes, occasionally stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the blade.
• If needed, drizzled the canola oil into the food processor while it is running to bring the mixture together. Pulse another 1 or 2 minutes, until you reach your desired consistency.
• Butter can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to 1 month.
This article appears in September 2013.