“I am certain that everything will work out.”
I’ll come right out and say it: there’s nothing like a good seasonal nut butter to get me even MORE jazzed about the season that we are in! We all know how much I adore the fall season, and how much I am in love with Christmas and all of the magic that surrounds these upcoming months! When Wild Friends’ seasonal butters came out a few weeks ago, I was just filled with so much excitement!
This will be Oliver’s first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas!! Sure, will an almost 1-year-old fully grasp what’s going on? Most likely not. Will his mom be over the moon excited about the decorating, the baking, the music, the entire vibe (yes, I said it) of the last 3 months of the year? DUH! For the past 8 months, Oliver’s entire life, the world has been weird. We haven’t seen family as much as we’d like, we haven’t been able to go to any of the places around Atlanta that we love to relax, no traveling, nothing that we had planned for Oliver’s first year, but we are rolling with it. With the holidays coming up, that’s one thing I will definitely make sure we do in full force!
That being said, I almost screamed when I saw that Wild Friends was having their seasonal nut butters come out. I am OBSESSED with these flavors—I never knew I needed their Gingerbread or Sugar Cookie peanut butter until a few years ago, and now I stock up! A spoonful of sugar cookie?! Yes, please! And adding it to both the crust AND the fudge was a no brainer. Sugar cookie for the crust, gingerbread for the fudge, damn. I don’t really know where or why or how this recipe came about, I was craving something salty and sweet, honestly!
A pretzel crust has got to be one of my new favorite things, blended with some dates, some honey, nut butter—you’ve got yourself the perfect salty, sweet, crunchy crust. Then a a3-ingredient fudge? YES PLS! I threw in my favorite jam of all time: fig jam that I discovered many years ago at Whole Foods and only purchase when I go there maybe once a year. A creamy, nutty, slightly sweet fudge on top of a crunchy, salty crust, all topped with large flakes of salt—honestly, leave THIS out for Santa this year, my friends!
crust ingredients
Pretzels—2 oz, or 1 C
Peanuts, dry roasted + unsalted—4.75 oz, or 1 C
Dates, pitted—3 oz, or 8
Nut Butter, seasonal Wild Friends—3.75 oz, or 5 TBL
Vanilla Extract—1 tsp
Honey—3 TBL
process
In a blender or food processor, pulse until all ingredients are crushed into pea-sized pieces
When you squeeze a handful of the crust, it should hold together
Press into the bottom of an 8” x 8” pan, freeze
fudge ingredients
Chocolate—12.5 oz, or 2 C
Nut Butter, seasonal Wild Friends—12 oz, or 1 C
Fig Jam—3 TBL
Salt—large pinch
process
In a heatproof bowl or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate
Stir in the peanut butter and jam until homogenous
Pour this mixture over the crust, and even out with an offset spatula
Sprinkle your salt over top—I love a chunky salt for this, but any will do!
Allow to set in freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour until the fudge has firmed
Remove from freezer, cut into squares and store in a sealed container in either the fridge or the freezer!
Bon Appétit!