Warning: you may kick yourself for never doing this before once you're done reading this post.
Sunday morning my phone rang on the way to the grocery store. It was Troy telling me we were out of peanut butter and could I pick some up. Generally we buy Jif (or is it Jiff?) from Costco. I've been sick of buying overly processed peanut butter, and the fancy non-processed stuff is VERY expensive. And generally the natural stuff tastes like a donkey's farts. As with all of my making from scratch escapades, this one started with my asking myself "how hard can it really be to make"?
Answer: it turns out a chimp could make peanut butter. Well, at the very least an almost 2 year old toddler boy.
I paid $.92 from the bulk section for Valencia peanuts that were shelled, and dry roasted. All the other ingredients I had on hand.
Step 1: take your ingredients...
...and add to a food processor. I have a nice one
that I purchased during an amazing sale with Christmas money. I'm guessing a blender would work fine for this recipe but you'll likely need to scrape the sides a few times.
Step 2: corral a toddler away from his ninjas long enough to help you out. Said toddler LOVES pushing the buttons on the food processor.
Step 3: add 1.5-2 cups of peanuts to a food processor, and process off an on for about 3-5 minutes. While the processor is running, add a pinch of salt if desired, and a few teaspoons of oil. The oil isn't necessary, but I needed it to get the peanut butter closer to a texture that we're used to. Drizzle in some honey while processor is running. I probably added about 1/4 cup plus or minus a few teaspoons from Jack sticking his hands and a spoon out while I was pouring it in. My kid is a bee.
Step 4: remove from processor and add some chopped peanuts if you want a chunkier texture. Store in an airtight container. I'm keeping this in our cupboard, but it's a gamble if it needs to be refrigerated or not. Will keep you posted after a few weeks!
Step 5: pick your jaw up off the floor, and attempt to the recover from the shock and awe on how easy this is to make.
If you buy your peanut butter from Costco or use popular brand names, this probably won't save you too much money, if any. I spent $.92 for peanuts. The rest of the ingredients combined probably were about $.45, so I spent $1.37 for 1 pint of peanut butter. But if you compare that to store-bought natural peanut butter, the savings is about $2-3.50 a jar. Additionally, it's hard to put a price on peanut butter that isn't overly processed AND doesn't taste like donkey farts.Labels: Don't be a lazy ass - make it yourself, Homemade seasonings/Condiments, Jack, Poverty Cookbook
