A unique layered combination of Greek Yogurt, Granola Dust, Berries, and Cookie Nut Butter!
A Parfait? What's Special About That?
I’d be talking to the wall right now if this was a normal parfait recipe, layering simple ingredients in a glass such as yogurt, berries, peanut butter, and granola. Thankfully, this is anything but normal!
This post is actually three recipes in one. You will learn how to make Granola Dust, and my secret Cookie Nut Butter recipe. Then you will layer these two, along with Greek Yogurt and fresh berries, in a nice wine glass or mason jar. If you happen to have a parfait glass, whip those out now!
The Dust in the Wind
This flavorful “dust” is an adaptation from one of my favorite chefs, Jamie Oliver! I will leave a link to the cookbook I found the original recipe in below (affiliate link).
You will simply combine your choice of nuts, seeds, oats, dried fruit, orange zest, ground coffee, and cocoa powder. Then process to a coarse consistency. Don’t worry about the coffee! It is simply there to bring all of the flavors together. There is no coffee taste.
I also added cinnamon, salt, and cacao nibs to the recipe.
Start by adding your oats and nuts to a baking sheet for roasting (get your mind out of the gutter fellas). After roasting at 350°F for 7 minutes or so, mix the cacao nibs and seeds to the mixture. Roast for an additional 5 minutes, or until everything is fragrant and nicely browned.
Once everything is roasted and cooled slightly, add the oat and nut mixture to a large food processor. For reference, this is an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor. Here is the link to the one I used: https://amzn.to/378azxL (affiliate link).
After processing for 30 seconds, add in the remaining ingredients. The amazing thing about this recipe is that the combinations are endless, giving you different flavor profiles every time!
Cookie Dough Nut Butter
Now onto the star of the show: Cookie Dough Nut Butter! Be prepared for this to possibly be the best thing you’ve put in your mouth (food-wise…).
It is a combination of nuts, dried fruit, shredded coconut, honey for sweetness, and additional flavorings. I also like to add a bit of coconut oil to smooth it out a bit.
Start by processing dates, raisins, and walnuts in a food processor. Try and get the mixture to the consistency pictured above.
Remove the date mixture from the processor, then process the macadamia nuts, cashews, and shredded coconut. Add coconut oil slowly to the mixture if not processing smoothly. I would add 1 teaspoon at a time.
To make any nut butter, not just this one, you will need to allow the nuts to process for around 3 minutes or so. This allows the nuts to naturally release their oils, providing a smoother consistency.
Once nut butter is formed, add the flavorings! For this, I added honey, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.
You could skip the initial step and not add it to the processor here, and you would end up with a delicious nut butter. Why would you stop short of perfection though?!
Now, just add in the date mixture from before (you still have that right?), and process to combine. Let the shouts of joy commence!
Side Note: I would highly recommend lightly toasting your nuts in a large skillet at the beginning. It will provide a deeper flavor overall.
Putting it all together
At this point, you have learned how to make two of my favorite foods in the world: Granola Dust and Cookie Dough Nut Butter. Now, time to layer!
You can switch up the layers if desired. I decided on starting with the yogurt. Next, I formed the Cookie Dough Nut Butter into a disk that fit the glass (it is quite thick). Then I layered in a couple of tablespoons of the dust, and topped with an assortment of berries. I used blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Choose any that you wish here.
Repeat the layering once more (or two…or three…). Then you have the PERFECT PARFAIT! Enjoy!
Side Side Note: These recipes may seem a bit advanced, but trust me, they are quite simple when you get going! You can also prepare the nut butter and granola dust well in advance.
The Best Berry Parfait
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
Granola Dust
- 5 cups Rolled Oats
- 4 oz Mixed Nuts Unsalted and raw
- 3 oz Mixed Seeds Unsalted and raw
- 1 tbsp Cacao Nibs
- 4 oz Mixed Dried Fruit
- 2 tbsp Quality Cocoa Powder
- 1 tbsp Freshly Ground Coffee
- 2 tsp Orange Zest
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
Cookie Nut Butter
- 1/4 cup Golden Raisins
- 1/4 cup Dates pitted
- 1/4 cup Walnuts
- 1 cup Unsweetened Coconut shredded
- 1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts
- 1/4 cup Cashews
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil Unrefined
- 1/4 cup Raw Honey
- 0.5 tbsp Vanilla Extract pure
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 pinch Sea Salt
- Freshly Grated Nutmeg a little goes a long way
The Parfait
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt I use Fage full fat yogurt.
- 1/4 cup Granola Dust
- 2 tbsp Cookie Nut Butter
- 1/4 cup Mixed Berries I used blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Instructions
Granola Dust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the oats and nuts on a large baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Toss together and roast for 7 minutes.
- After the 7 minutes, stir in the seeds and cacao nibs. Mix thoroughly, and bake for additional 5 minutes, or until everything is lightly browned.
- Pulse all toasted ingredients in a large food processor until coarsely ground. Then add the remaining ingredients, pulsing for 30-45 seconds longer. Store in an airtight container.
Cookie Nut Butter
- Toast nuts in a large, dry skillet at medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
- Add raisins, dates, and walnuts to a food processor. Pulse to the size of small pebbles. Remove and set aside.
- Add shredded coconut, cashews, macadamia nuts, and coconut oil to the processor. Process until very smooth (this may take a few minutes). Then add honey, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Resume processing for another 30 seconds or so.
- Add reserved date mixture, pulsing for a few seconds to combine.
The Parfait
- In a parfait or wine glass (or mason jar), layer in the yogurt, nut butter (formed into a disk), granola dust, and berries. Then repeat that order once more and serve!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Info for one Berry Parfait
Additional Notes
- Feel free to use regular nut butter. It can be homemade, or even store-bought to save time.
- The granola dust will yield roughly 6 cups, and last for 2 months in an airtight container.
- The cookie nut butter will yield roughly 2.5-3 cups, and last 2-3 weeks in an airtight container. You can store in the fridge for extended shelf life, but the nut butter will become quite hard.
This looks very delicious, will be posting again letting you know it turned out