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.

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.

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet that allows you to eat many of the foods you love while still losing weight, including delicious treats like these keto almond butter cups. We love these almond butter cups because they’re incredibly simple to make (just 5 ingredients!) and take care of our sweet tooth without setting us off our diet goals. After just one bite we know that you’ll love them, too.

Key to making these almond butter cups keto-friendly is to follow a few simple rules:

• Use coconut oil. Coconut oil contains certain fats called medium-chain triglycerides, which are rapidly absorbed in the liver where they’re either burned for energy or converted into ketones.
• Leave out any refined sugar. Refined sugar is a big no-no for the keto diet since it can inhibit your body’s ability to enter into ketosis. Stick to sugar alternatives instead, like Stevia or monk fruit sweetener.
• Be wise in your chocolate choice. To the point above, you’ll want to only use sugar-free chocolate, which includes chocolates that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Or you can just go plain sugar-free, which is what we opt for in our recipe since it gives you more control over overall sweetness.

Okay, ready to get cooking? Here is our recipe for super simple—and simply delicious—keto almond butter cups.

Ingredients

½ cup + 2tbsp coconut oil
½ cup Natural Almond Butter from Ezra Cohen Montreal
1 tsp Liquid Stevia or alternative sweetener of your choice (play around with this amount if you prefer your food more or less sweet)
½ cup sugar-free dark chocolate
Sea salt

Directions

1. Line an 18 cup mini-muffin tin with liners and spray each liner with a light mist of coconut oil spray. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan set over low heat, combine ½ cup coconut oil with ½ cup Natural Almond Butter from Ezra Cohen Montreal. Once combined, add sweetener and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together sugar-free dark chocolate with the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Make sure to only use low-heat and to check progress in 15-second intervals. Once the chocolate is almost fully melted, stir to combine until smooth.
4. Drop a spoonful of chocolate mixture onto the bottom of each muffin liner and spread it so it covers the bottom. Then put a teaspoon or so of the almond butter mixture on top and press down to flatten. Cover with remaining chocolate. Sprinkle each cup with sea salt.
5. Place in the freezer until set. Then enjoy!

Ezra Cohen Montreal was founded by Ezra Cohen, McGill graduate, and nut butter enthusiast. Check out our recipe gallery for more healthy treats, and in the meantime, happy snacking!

An almond butter parfait might just be the perfect way to start your morning. There’s so much to love about it: creamy yogurt, fresh fruit, irresistible almond butter. Plus, it’s totally customizable depending on your taste and how much time you have!

There’s a lot of things that we love to do with the All-Natural Almond Butter from Ezra Cohen Montreal, but this is definitely at the top of the list. Below, we’ll go over everything that you need to build a showstopping parfait that’s full of almond butter goodness.

Recipe

Step One: Choose Your Base

The sky is the limit when it comes to what yogurt you use in your parfait. We like simple, whole milk Greek yogurt, but non-Greek yogurt, low-fat yogurt, or flavored yogurt all work just as well. To keep your parfait extra healthy, be sure to pick a yogurt that is low in added sugar.

Step Two: Go Nutty

Take a cup of your yogurt choice and stir in 3 tablespoons of creamy almond butter. Then add 1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. Stir until smooth.

Step Three: Freshen Up With Fruit

Fruit is an important component of any good breakfast parfait. And since so many fruits go well with almond butter, you should have no trouble picking out the right ones. Our favorites? Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and peaches, but grapes, apples, pineapple, and orange will all work well too! If you just can’t choose, mix it up by opting for multiple kinds of fruit.

Step Four: Pick a Crunch Factor

A good parfait is all about texture. Chopped almonds are a natural choice for your almond butter parfait, but shredded coconut, chia seeds, or dry cereal also make great crunchy additions.

Step Five: Build Your Parfait

Sure you can just stir all of your separate parfait components together, but for a true parfait, you’re going to need layers. Start with a layer of your yogurt and almond butter mixture, then top with a thin layer of your crunch element followed by fruit. Repeat these layers until you run out of ingredients, ideally ending with a layer of yogurt topped with crunch. If you really want to up the ante, melt 1 tablespoon of almond butter and drizzle it on top.

Now that you know what’s for breakfast, what about the rest of the day? Check out all of the recipes on our blog for more great ideas from Ezra Cohen, McGill graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal!