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Chocolate Pistachio Butter

Smooth pistachio butter with chocolate: made with roasted pistachios, cocoa, sugar, and milk.

Ingredients

  • 227g raw pistachios shelled (sometimes called "nutmeats")
  • ½ teaspoon salt add more to taste
  • 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons pistachio oil or a flavorless oil
  • 100g or ½ cups fine granulated sugar
  • 30g or ⅓ cup dutch process cocoa
  • 3-4 tablespoons boiling hot water
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk ,or more as needed

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Set the pistachios on a small sheet pan and toast them in the oven for 10 minutes.
  • In a food processor, process the nuts on high until they become finely ground. Scrape down the bowl and continue processing for another 5 minutes or so. At first, the nuts will become a thick paste. Keep scraping and processing until they really release their oils and form a smooth paste. Depending on the power of your food processor, this could take between 10-20 minutes.
  • Add the salt, vanilla and oil and process until smooth (the oil will make the paste more runny), then add the sugar and process. The sugar granules won't melt just yet but process them for a few minutes into the paste.
  • Set the cocoa in a bowl and pour the boiling hot water over it, stir until you have a shiny, smooth paste. Add it to the food processor and blend.
  • At this point the butter's emulsion might break: you'll see a thick paste with oils separated from it. Add the milk, one tablespoon then blend, then the other and blend. You'll have a smooth, shiny paste.
  • Store in an airtight container; at room temperature for about 2 weeks. In the fridge, it will last a month.

Video

Notes

Pistachio oil is recommended here for the obvious reason; it best complements the nut flavor. However, it is hard to come by and rather expensive so I’ve offered grapeseed as an alternative because it is neutral-tasting. If you really didn’t want to bother with buying a special oil, use canola. Also you could use olive oil - bearing in mind it will add its own flavor to the butter (although this may be a good thing, depending on your taste!)