I'm obsessed with everything fall...especially pumpkin. Cool breezes, cozy sweatshirts, open windows, the scent of cinnamon...it's the ultimate comfort season in my opinion. I don't care if it's cliche. Side note...Did you guys know pumpkin isn't really something they eat in the UK? But Nic is catching the fever. How could you not?
The challenge for me with pumpkin is that all of the recipes out there seem to be time intensive and designed for desserts and pastries, which are amazing, but not something I can eat daily and still feel my absolute best. But nut butters...nut butters are something we already eat every day. Healthy fats, tons of flavor, useful in all kinds of recipes and easy to make. That's what inspired this recipe.
We love making our own nutbutter, we've been trying to come up with fun new ways to get more pumpkin into our October meals and this idea came to mind on our coffee walk this morning. We threw it together in 15 minutes while making a veggie scramble and it did not disappoint!
Make sure you don't miss the notes at the end because we share all of the ideas we brainstormed on our walk for how we're going to use this delicious pumpkin pecan cashew butter + a bonus idea for no bake nutbutter cups that we're making with the boys this weekend.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of raw cashews
1 cup of raw pecans
2 TBSP pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
Directions:
In a food processor, combine the cashews and pecans and pulse about 20 times. Then press puree and let it run for 2-3 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, pulse about 20-30 times until it starts to form a ball then press puree and let it run for about 5-7 minutes until it looks like a creamy nutbutter.
That's it! Store it in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge.
Note: If you like your nut butter sweeter you can add 2 - 3 tsp of maple syrup or 1-2 pitted dates softened in hot water for 10 minutes. If it looks to runny then add another TBSP of cashews.
This nut butter is amazing on sweet potato toast, added to yogurt or smoothie bowls, mixed with coconut yogurt and extra cinnamon for a fall fruit dip, on a warm nut butter and jelly sandwich, or spread on crackers for the kids. You can even use it to make a Halloween Nutbutter Cups.
Place small muffin wrappers in a muffin tin or set them out on a baking sheet. Add melted dark chocolate with a little bit of coconut oil. Freeze for an hour. Top with the cashew pecan pumpkin nut butter and freeze for another hour. Top with more melted dark chocolate with a little coconut oil and freeze for 1 more hour. Store in the fridge or freezer until they're gone.