by Ezra Cohen Montreal

Ezra Cohen, McGill graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal, is always looking back in his roots when coming up with new recipes. So when it came time to tackle pistachio chocolate fudge, he knew he had to bring in some inspiration from his favorite alma mater.

Montreal is a thriving food community, which is great news for McGill students. While early morning classes and late-night studying might necessitate a trip to one of the campus dining halls, there is more than enough opportunity to enjoy all of the delectable creativity in the surrounding city. And this pistachio fudge recipe incorporates some of Ezra’s own favorite off-campus bites from his time in The City of Saints.

Ezra’s pistachio fudge brings in two big inspirations from his McGill years: the sesame seeds atop Montreal bagels and the pretzel topping from Ezra’s favorite chocolate-dipped cone at La Diperie. Combine that with perfectly roasted pistachios and deep dark chocolate and you get the most delicious bite this side of the Canada-U.S. border.

How to Make Pistachio Fudge with Sesame and Pretzels

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup shelled and roasted pistachios

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

2 teaspoons sugar

12 ounces 70% dark chocolate, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Pinch of salt

2 cups roughly chopped miniature pretzels

Directions

1. Put ¼ cup pistachios in food processor and pulse until chopped. Be careful not to pulse too finely—you don’t want it to become a powder. Mix in sesame seeds and sugar and set aside.

2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt together the dark chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. While it’s melting, put the remaining cup of pistachios is a plastic bag and use a rolling pin or another heavy device to break up the pieces into slightly smaller chunks. Add nuts to melted chocolate mixture.

3. Pour the chocolate mixture into a 9-inch baking pan fitted with parchment paper for easy removal later. Smooth the top, then generously sprinkle it with the pistachio and sesame mixture and chopped miniature pretzels.

4. Let the fudge cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least four hours. Once ready, cut into squares and enjoy!

Want to put your own spin on this McGill-inspired pistachio fudge? The campus and Montreal offer plenty of other inspiration. Case in point: nix the sesame seeds and pretzels and combine your ¼ cup pistachios with a tablespoon of maple syrup and a touch of espresso powder for fudge that’s reminiscent of the maple latte at Montreal’s Café Humble Lion. Yum!

For more great recipes from Ezra Cohen Montreal (including our fan-favorite Praline Pecan Butter Fudge), check out the rest of our recipe blog.

As you could probably guess, we eat a lot of nut butter here at Ezra Cohen Montreal. And lately, we’ve been particularly enamored with our roasted pecan butter, enhanced with the sweet richness of pralines.

Nothing says fall like pecans. These velvety smooth nuts have an intense depth of flavor and can more than hold their own next to other seasonal staples (we’ll take pecan pie over pumpkin pie any day of the week). They’re also immensely good for you. Below, we’ll tackle the topic of pecan butter nutrition and share some of our favorite pecan butter uses so that you can enjoy even more of the good stuff.

Pecan Butter Health Benefits

Looking at nutritional content alone, pecan butter is one of the healthiest nut butters that you can eat. That’s because pecans are naturally stocked with a wide range of necessary vitamins and minerals—more than 19 of them, in fact!—including potassium, fiber, and vitamin E. And while it’s slightly higher in fat than other nut butter varieties, it’s also chockful of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, both of which are integral to a healthy diet.

When you eat pecan butter, you get more than just great flavor—you also get a ton of health benefits. These include:

• Support for cardiovascular and digestive health
• Assistance with weight loss
• Minerals that keep teeth and bones strong
• A boost for your immune system
• Reduced blood pressure

Working more pecan nut butter into your diet is a simple way to get more of the things that your body needs, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it tastes great too. As for ways to enjoy it beyond just eating it off the spoon, we’ve got some ideas.

Creative Uses for Pecan Nut Butter

As our recipe guru, Ezra Cohen, McGill University graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal, is always figuring out new and creative uses for our nut butters. Here are two of his (and our) favorite ways to enjoy pecan butter!

Top your breakfast. Warm up a tablespoon of Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter for 15 seconds in the microwave and then drizzle it on pancakes and waffles, or stir it into yogurt and put it in a bowl with fruit and granola for a nutritious parfait.

Bake with it. Add Praline Pecan Butter to your favorite cookies, bread, and other baked good recipes. A ribbon of pecan nut butter in a healthy banana bread simply cannot be beat.

Try Ezra Cohen Praline Pecan Butter Today

Ready to enjoy? Check out our Praline Pecan Butter and other nut butter varieties, and don’t forget to check out our recipe blog for even more quick and delicious ways to use nut butters!

The weather is cooling off, the leaves are changing colors, and our experts at Ezra Cohen Montreal are whipping up our favorite praline pecan butter recipes in honor of the fall season. Try one—or all three!—and take your nut butter game to the next level.

Praline Pecan Butter Fudge

Perfect for: Holiday gifts and dessert tables.

What you’ll need:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter

1 tsp vanilla extra

1/8 tsp salt

4 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Combine unsalted butter and praline pecan butter in a pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once you reach a boil, immediately remove the pot from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. Then sift powdered sugar into the mixture, stirring until everything is completely smooth. Pour into a lightly greased 8×8 baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and let set in the fridge for at least one hour. Once cooled, slice into small squares.

Praline Pecan Butter Hot Chocolate

Perfect for: A post-dinner treat by the fireplace.

What you’ll need:

1 can (13oz) of full-fat coconut cream

¼ cup milk of your choice (both dairy and non-dairy will work)

3.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

Optional: Whipped cream for garnish.

Directions: Heat together coconut cream, milk, chocolate chips, praline pecan butter, and sugar in a pot over medium heat. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in cocoa powder, vanilla, and cinnamon. Remove from heat and pour into mugs. Top with whipped cream and another dusting of cinnamon.

Praline Pecan Butter & Banana Smoothie

Perfect for: A quick breakfast before a crisp fall hike.

What you’ll need:

Banana (fresh or frozen)

1 cup milk (both dairy and non-dairy will work)

¼ cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup of ice cubes

Optional: Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for garnish.

Directions: Blend together all ingredients until smooth. Top with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips if desired.

Ezra Cohen, McGill graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal, is passionate about good food that’s easy to make. Try our nut butter varieties today (including our fan-favorite Praline Pecan Butter!), then check out our recipe blog for quick and delicious ideas that the whole family will love.

Ezra Cohen, McGill University grad and health food guru, has built an entire enterprise on providing quality nut butter snacks to those who want something that tastes amazing and boosts your health.

We all know that Brazil nut butter is delicious, but you might be surprised to learn that there are many Brazil nut butter benefits that go far beyond its great taste.

Nut butters, in general, are one of the easiest ways to add essential vitamins and nutrients to your diet (hence the reason we’re such big fans of them here at Ezra Cohen Montreal). And brazil nut butter, in general, has a lot to offer when it comes to your health.

Brazil nuts, which are tree nuts harvested from the Amazon rainforest in South America, have an inherently rich flavor that’s ideal for nut butter. But Brazil nut butter only tastes decadent—behind the scenes, it provides surprising benefits to a range of different systems in your body. Here are three of them.

1. It boosts your immune system
Brazil nuts, and thus Brazil nut butter, contain high levels of selenium, a mineral that, among other things, helps enhance the functions of your immune system and thyroid. Each of us requires about 55 mcg of selenium a day for optimal immune health, and Brazil nuts far exceed that amount, providing anywhere between 96 mcg and 400 mcg per nut. That’s good news for your immune system, especially as we enter the flu season.

2. It helps protect your brain
The more you can protect your brain, the better. That’s why it’s great to know that Brazil nut butter contains ellagic acid, a neuroprotective antioxidant that provides key support to brain cells. In one study, adults with mild cognitive impairments who ate just one Brazil nut a day for six months experienced improved mental functioning and verbal fluency. Not bad for such a simple snack food.

3. It can lower your risk of heart disease
Nuts are notoriously good for your heart, and the same goes for Brazil nuts, which contain fiber, minerals, and healthy polyunsaturated fats that can help lower your levels of bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and raise your levels of good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol). The result? A reduced risk of heart disease and an all-around healthier heart.

At Ezra Cohen Montreal, we believe that the best foods are those that are both good and good for you. Try our Brazil Nut Butter and other nut butter products today and discover just how easy it is to do right by your body. And don’t forget to check out our recipe blog for great tips on cooking and baking with nuts and nut butters!