| 1 | Toast the nuts in the oven or in a skillet until slightly browned. |
| 2 | To toast in an oven, spread the nuts in a single layer in a shallow pan and bake at 350f for 10 minutes, stirring the nuts occasionally so they brown evenly. |
| 3 | To toast on top of the stove, place the nuts in a skillet and cook them over medium-high heat, stirring or shaking the pan constantly so they brown evenly. |
| 4 | Be sure that you turn all the nuts over frequently as they cook or they will scorch. |
| 5 | A teaspoonful of oil helps distribute the heat and keep everything moving, resulting in more even browning. |
| 6 | transfer the toasted nuts to a food processor and process 1 minute. |
| 7 | Stop the machine, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl thoroughly, and continue processing another minute or two, scraping the bowl occasionally. |
| 8 | Eventually the sound will change as the mixture changes from finely chopped nuts to a thick, smooth mixture that clings to the sides of the bowl. |
| 9 | Have patience; this can take two or three minutes. |
| 10 | If the nuts refuse to form a butter, add a little oil through the feed tube (hazelnuts usually require some oil). |
| 11 | When the blade spins free, scrape down the mixture one more time and blend a few seconds more. |
| 12 | Taste the butter and add a little salt if desired; process briefly to stir it in. store nut butters tightly covered, at room temperature or refrigerated, and use within a week or so. |
| 13 | this recipe is from the art of the sandwich by jay harlow. |
