Wonder what it takes to launch an exciting new food brand? Peanuts, actually, and a generous dollop of determination. Pippa Murray, the woman behind healthy nut butter range Pip & Nut, tells Keeley Bolger about spreading her wings

There's liking nut butters - and then there's leaving your job to devote all your energy to launching a range of them.

But for Pippa Murray, who did just that to launch Pip & Nut, it was a no-brainer.

A former producer for the Science Museum, the 28-year-old Londoner had never developed a product before, nor did she have a background in food, describing herself as just a "regular cook". But neither obstacle was going to hold her back.

"I'm addicted to peanut butter," explains Murray, who had the idea for the brand four years ago. "I absolutely love the stuff, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to launch the brand, because this is a product I genuinely love and I genuinely felt I could sell really well."

Another reason was her desire to find a healthy way to top up on protein while training (Murray's also a keen marathon runner), and an alternative to the palm oil and sugar-loaded varieties that dominated the peanut butter aisles.

She spent 18 months burning through blenders in her North London kitchen on a quest to make the perfect spread, before winning a competition run by Escape the City, enabling her to live rent-free in the capital, so she could save towards her launch and focus on building the brand.

The catch?

"The accommodation was a shed in the back garden in the head office," says the entrepreneur, breaking into a laugh.

"It was nice. It had windows and doors, and it was summer so it didn't need heating. There was definitely a moment of, 'This is so exciting', and then a realisation that this is real now but also I have to live in a shed for three months and, 'This is the weirdest thing I've ever had to do!' But it was a great summer."

Murray started selling her products at London's Bermondsey Market at weekends. Did she ever have doubts?

"All the time," she admits.

"I remember when we did the first large manufacturing run, a month before we launched; I remember seeing all these products roaring off the production line and while I loved it, there was a little bit of self-doubt creeping in, like, 'What if no one buys it? What if I end up with 20,000 units in a warehouse that I can't sell?'"

That didn't happen, though, and the "tipping point", when she realised she could turn her dream into a reality, eventually came.

"For me, it was when I got the crowd-funding investment, because up until that point I'd just had my mum saying, 'This is great and the product's fantastic', and my sisters patting me on the back," she recalls.

"There is something about when you raise private investment, which is what I did when I was in the shed. It really validated my business, because I think people don't throw money at something they think is rubbish."

Pip & Nut nut butters - all entirely natural and palm oil-free - are now stocked in 2,500 stores in the UK and Ireland, including Sainsbury's and Holland & Barrett stores, with plans to introduce new products to the range in 2017.

Murray, who won a 2016 NatWest Everywoman Award in celebration of her achievements, also has a new book just out, called Pip & Nut: The Nut Butter Cookbook - and it's not just 100 recipes for PB on toast!

"We get tagged in about 100 Instagram posts every day of people eating our products, and it's great because not many of the pictures are of peanut butter on toast," she notes, chuckling.

"Most of the time, it's things like a really amazing breakfast bowl, on porridge, on pancakes, smoothies. What we're about as a brand is telling people you can get quite creative with this product.

"Even if it's in a small way, cooking is a way of having fun and expressing yourself," Murray adds. "Why not have some fun with the food you're eating?"

Want to have fun with your nuts? Here are three recipes from Pip & Nut: The Nut Butter Cookbook to crack on with...

SPICED PEANUT PARSNIP SOUP

(Serves 2)

3 parsnips, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 red onion, peeled and quartered

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled

2tsp vegetable stock powder made up with 720ml boiling water

2tbsp peanut butter (see below for instructions)

2tbsp coconut cream

Pinch of chilli powder

2tsp ground cumin

30g coriander leaves

For the topping:

1tbsp coconut chips

1tbsp pumpkin seeds

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

15g coriander, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the nut butter (Makes 1 Jar):

300g of your choice of nuts

Pinch of sea salt (optional)

To make the nut butter, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Spread the nuts out on a large baking tray in a single layer. Roast until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Tip the nuts into a food processor with the salt, if using, and blitz. The whole process takes about 10 minutes, depending on how powerful your blender is, but don't stop until the nut butter is smooth and glossy.

After two minutes: The nuts turn into a crumble like texture. At this point, stop the blender and use a spatula to scrape down all the pieces. After four minutes: A small ball forms. After six minutes: The nuts will be smooth, but will still have a slightly rough texture. After eight to 10 minutes: Don't stop yet. Keep going until the nut butter is smooth, glossy and runny.

Pour into an airtight container or jam jar. It will be good for three months, but to get the best flavour from the nuts, eat within two weeks or so.

For the soup, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Line an ovenproof dish with baking parchment, add the parsnips, onion, garlic and ginger to the dish and roast for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping by stirring all the ingredients together to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Blitz the stock in a high-speed blender with the peanut butter, coconut cream, chilli powder, cumin and coriander.

Remove the roasted veg from the oven and add to the blender. Power for one to two minutes on a medium-high speed until you get a smooth texture. You may wish to add more water, depending on your preferred thickness.

Serve in bowls, sprinkled with the topping.

EASY OVEN-BAKED CHICKEN SATAY

(Serves 4)

1/2 small bunch of coriander

1 red chilli

1 garlic clove, peeled

3 heaped tbsp peanut butter

3tbsp dark soy sauce

2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

Finely grated zest of 2 limes and juice of 1

6-8 bone-in chicken thighs, with skin

Olive oil, to drizzle

3tbsp runny honey

3tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.

Put the coriander, stalks and all, in a food processor with the chilli, garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger and lime zest and juice.

Add a couple of splashes of water and blitz to a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken thighs in a roasting dish, spoon over half the satay mixture (reserve the rest in a bowl for serving) and coat the chicken well.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and season. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through, drizzling the honey over the chicken 10 minutes before the end of cooking. Once golden, take out of the oven and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Serve on a bed of brown rice or with a fresh green salad, and the reserved satay sauce on the side.

BAKED PECAN BRIOCHE FRENCH TOAST

(Serves 4)

1 loaf of brioche, sliced fairly thickly

200g pecan butter, plus extra to serve

4 eggs

55g caster sugar

500ml almond milk

100g fresh blueberries, plus extra to serve

Icing sugar, for dusting

To serve:

Maple syrup

Natural yoghurt

The day before, spread one side of each brioche slice with pecan butter and arrange the slices in overlapping layers in a shallow ovenproof dish, with the nut butter sides facing down.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and almond milk until combined, then pour evenly over the brioche. Dot the blueberries all over the surface, cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 175C/350F/ gas mark 4. Remove the cling film from the dish, place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed up, and no more liquid remains. Leave to cool a little to warm, then dust with icing sugar.

Serve with a maple syrup, a spoonful of yoghurt, some more blueberries and pecan butter.

Pip & Nut: The Nut Butter Cookbook by Pippa Murray is published by Quadrille on December 29, priced, £15

THREE OF THE BEST... Peanut-butter flavoured products

Joe & Seph's Popcorn Peanut Butter, £3 for 80g, Sainsbury's (www.sainsburys.co.uk)

This moreish popcorn has a satisfying nutty crunch, and unlike other brands of popcorn, balances the sweet and savoury really nicely.

Peanut Hottie Peanut Butter With Chocolate Flavoured Hot Drink, currently reduced to £2.49 from £2.99 for 260g, Tesco (www.tesco.com)

If a daily lashing of PB on toast isn't quite enough, this nutty hot drink might help see you through. Although it's chocolatey too, the nuts are the dominant flavour here.

Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream, currently reduced to £2.50 from £4.47 for 500ml, Morrisons (groceries.morrisons.com)

One for proper PB nuts. Creamy peanut butter ice cream, peppered with chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, this is pure nutty indulgence.