Maple Nut Butter

Maple nut butter is the kind of small-batch spread that earns a permanent place in the fridge once you make it. Toasted nuts get pulsed into softened butter, real maple syrup, and a touch of vegetable oil for spreadability. Use it on warm toast, drag a butter knife of it across a scone, or melt a spoonful into pancakes.

Toasting the nuts is non-optional. Raw nuts taste flat and pale against the maple, but a quick roast in a 350F (175C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes wakes up the oils and brings out the deep, almost caramelized flavor that defines this butter.

The nonfat dry milk powder is the unusual ingredient that makes this work. It thickens the butter without adding water, which would cause the spread to seize or separate. It also adds a subtle creamy depth that fresh milk cannot deliver.

Use genuine maple syrup, the dark grade B kind if you can find it. Pancake syrup is sugar-water and wastes the entire premise of the recipe.

Hazelnuts give the most distinct, almost Nutella-like flavor, walnuts are richer and more rustic, pecans are sweeter and softer.

Pro Tips

• Let the toasted nuts cool completely before processing, hot nuts release oils that turn the butter greasy.
• Soften the butter to truly room temperature before processing, cold butter won’t blend smoothly.
• Pulse the nuts into the butter at the end, processing them with the wet ingredients turns them to paste.
• Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, bring to room temperature before spreading.

Variations

• Add a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg for a fall-spiced butter.
• Swap maple for honey or sorghum syrup for a different sweet profile.
• Stir in a pinch of flaky sea salt at the end to balance the sweetness.