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!