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4 words. Heaven. In. A. Jar. Introducing Maple Praline Butter!
If you don’t know what praline butter or paste is, it’s basically some nuts, usually hazelnuts and/or almonds, that are caramelized and then ground to a smooth paste. This stuff is crazy good. It makes a base for many desserts or chocolate candies. I previously released two recipes that feature praline paste, but both used white sugar. So, I went back to testing with healthier sweeteners.
First, I went with coconut sugar. It didn’t work. Why? Because coconut sugar burns at a lower temperature than most sugars. It’s okay for baked goods, but not to make caramel. Then I tried it with maple syrup, and it worked! I can honestly say I taste no difference in flavor between the one made with white sugar and the one made with maple syrup.
It starts with the nuts that you roast in the oven for about 12 minutes. What’s great about this recipe is that you can customize it to your liking. For a classic praline flavor, I used half almonds and half hazelnuts, but you can use other nuts: pistachios, peanuts, pecans, cashews, or even pine nuts!
Then, let the nuts cool and heat the maple syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. As soon as it starts to bubble, add the nuts and keep stirring using a wooden spoon until the sugar crystallizes. This step will take about 7-10 minutes. First, the maple syrup will reduce and then crystallize. The nuts will be coated with maple sugar and will be crispy. If you are like me, you probably won’t resist eating a handful of caramelized nuts once they are cool.
Once the caramelized nuts are cool, it’s time to transfer them to a food processor and transform them into a paste. You have three options here:
- 1) Make a very thick paste. Don’t process too long. About 1 minute is enough. You will get a very thick praline paste that still has bits of caramelized nuts. It’s perfect to spread on toast.
- 2) Make a thinner paste that has the texture of peanut butter with very small bits of nuts. This is the consistency I like the most. It’s smooth and creamy but still has some crispiness to it. It’s great to use on top of oatmeal, in cakes, chocolates, etc.
- 3) Make a super smooth, very thin butter. If you want it super smooth I would recommend using a blender instead of the food processor. A very smooth praline butter is best used in pastry creams.
In the end, it all comes down to your taste. It’s like the crunchy vs. smooth peanut butter debate. Some people like to have some crunchiness, while others want it super smooth. If you plan to use it in desserts or in other recipes, I would recommend processing it until it has the texture of natural peanut butter.
My secret to taking this maple praline butter to the next level is to blend one WHOLE vanilla bean with the caramelized nuts. The flavor it adds to the praline is unbelievable. I guess you could use a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you don’t have vanilla beans, but I haven’t tried it yet.
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Maple Praline Paste
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup raw hazelnuts
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the almonds on one half of the baking sheet and the hazelnuts on the other half.
- Roast for about 12 minutes. Transfer the hazelnuts to a clean kitchen towel and let cool for 5 minutes. Once the hazelnuts are a bit cooler, rub them in the kitchen towel to remove the skin. It’s okay if you don’t remove all the skins. Transfer the peeled hazelnuts and the almonds to a bowl. Set aside.
- Pour the maple syrup into a large saucepan and heat over medium heat.
- Once it starts to bubble and some foam appears, add the nuts. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent the nuts from burning. The maple syrup will reduce and after about 5-7 minutes you won’t have much liquid left.
- Keep cooking until the maple syrup crystallizes and coats the nuts. At this point, there will be no liquid left and you will have some maple sugar coating the nuts. Lower the heat to low-medium and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly until the remaining sugar melts.
- Transfer to a silpat or baking sheet line with parchment paper and let cool completely.
- Once cool, transfer the caramelized nuts to a food processor. Add the whole vanilla bean and process until you get the texture of peanut butter. First, it will look like almond meal, then it will turn into a paste, and finally, it will have the consistency of a nut butter.
- Transfer to a clean jar. Enjoy on top of pancakes, oatmeal, or use in desserts. The praline butter will keep for months at room temperature.
Notes
- If you plan to make praline paste with pine nuts: start by toasting the pine nuts in a skillet until golden brown and only add them to the maple syrup once it has reduced by half. Otherwise, the pine nuts might burn.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
Leave a Comment
I have made this recipe several times, but I can’t get the same result, and I can’t figure out the reason why. I hope you could help.
In all the times I tired this recipe, I used the same amounts of nuts (roasted them at home), almonds and maple syrup. Same pan, same heat, food processor, same everything!
Last time I made it, the maple syrup started reduced as the minutes passed, as always, then I lowered the heat, but it did not crystallize the nuts.
It just coated them, there was no maple syrup left in the pan itself.
I kept cooking for a few more minutes (longer than previous batch, which came out perfect), but the nuts did not have those suary coat on them, only liquid maple syrup.
Since I cooked it for a few more minutes, it started developing a mild bitter taste. I guess something went wrong before even adding the nuts and maple to the pan, but what?
The duration of the roasting maybe? I have no idea.
I still made the nut butter just to see how it will come out. So it took a bit less time to grind in my food processor (than previous batch), and was more liquid than previous batch. And just a tad bitter.
Again, I used the exact same weight and amounts. The end result was different.
If you have any idea what I did wrong, please let me know.
I would say it can be a bit tricky to know when the maple syrup is at the right temperature. If you heat it for too long or at a too high temperature, it will burn and you will get that bitter taste. Also, be aware that once it has coated the nuts, you should already be able to remove from heat. The maple syrup will harden as it cools down. I think on your last batch, you heated the maple syrup for too long.
I heated it a bit too long, because I was waiting for that crystallization to happen (it happened on previous batch).
But instead, the maple syrup simmered and then coated the nuts, and even though I kept heating it more (on a low flame, there was no crystallization (that sugary, sprinkly coat). Instead, its just kept on heating and nothing happened.
I assume that because the maple syrup did not turn into that nice thicker, sugary coat – that is why the praline paste was thinner and more liquidy.
I have pictures of both batches, if that may help you understand more. It’s just I can’t figure out the problem.
I guess next time I will just be more patient… and heat on an even smaller flame.
Just made it this morning using pecans and almonds. it’s amazing!!n Going to make the Chocolate Mousse Praline Domes then use the remainder by making a vanilla almond/pecan swirl coconut ice cream..thanks so much for the recipe!
Swirling into ice cream sounds amazing!!
I made this recipe last week. It took me over 4 hours in my food processor because I had to take a lot of breaks when the machine got too hot. The end result is not as smooth or creamy as I would have liked but the taste is amazing.
Still, my food processor is quite good and wasn’t cheap. Why was it so difficult to make this recipe? Do you have any ideas?
Wow 4 hours sounds incredibly long! I’m afraid I don’t have an answer as I have no problem making it in my food processor or even blender.
Hi Thomas,
I have just made this and it is quite dry after processing for 15 mins, can I add anything to make it more like a paste ?
Hi Christine, keep processing and it will turn into a butter 🙂
This looks dangerous….in a very good way.
It is!
Thank you! Question: You didn’t remove the skins from the almonds?
Nope! Only the skin from the hazelnuts. Since their skin is very thin it tends to burn a bit when you roast the nuts, if you don’t remove it you will have a slightly bitter flavor. The almonds skin is okay and gives even more flavor to the praline paste.
Wow, great post! This looks and sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try it.
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to make some and stir it into ice cream before it sets.
I wonder if the maple syrup and nuts could be processed in a dehydrator instead to reduce the water content prior to blending? I tend to burn candy on the stove.
Praline ice cream?! That sounds freaking good!
Regarding the dehydrator, I doubt this will work. You really want to heat the maple syrup to turn it into “caramel sugar”. Don’t worry you are not going to burn it 🙂 Just stir regularly, be patient, and the maple syrup will reduce without burning.