April 30, 2011

A Homemade Kitchen: Peanut Butter

Happy Saturday! I’ve decided that I want to start a new series around here that details recipes and techniques for making food items at home that you might normally purchase at the store. This series is similar to another, Take-out at Home, except it will feature pantry staples and treats and will be called A Homemade Kitchen. Both series highlight how simple and easy it is to create great meals and staples from home. Homemade is better for your budget, body, and taste buds.

Today I’m featuring a tutorial for making one of my all-time favorite food items – peanut butter! I eat peanut butter almost everyday, not exaggerating. I love the taste, texture, smell, and the fact that it gives me a source of protein without coming from an animal. It’s cheap, too. Stay tuned next Saturday for a post on how to use homemade peanut butter in a extraordinarily delicious way!

This recipe is the easy version as it uses pre-roasted peanuts. To save money, you could purchase shelled, raw Spanish peanuts and roast them yourself by baking them in a 350 degree oven in a single layer on a sheet pan, sprinkled with salt, for 30-35 minutes. Once roasted and cooled, remove shells. Rub peanuts between your hands to remove skins, then throw them in a salad spinner to further remove skins.

Honey roasted peanuts in food processor, about to be pulverized!

Pulverization! Ignore my reflection on the shiny stainless steel.

Dreamy.

Homemade Peanut Butter
Makes about 1 cup

1 1/2 cups roasted peanuts (can use honey roasted, salted, or unsalted; see above for roasting at home)
salt (amount based on what peanuts you used, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary)
honey (amount based on what peanuts you used, taste and adjust as necessary)
1 tablespoon peanut oil (optional)

Place nuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. With lid on, pulse the peanuts until they become a smooth and shiny butter, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. If it seems your peanuts aren’t turning into a paste, slowly add the oil until incorporated and smooth. If peanuts turn into a paste easily, omit the oil. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Store peanut butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Peanut butter may require stirring to redistribute oils.

homemade, peanut butter

22 comments »

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1

Caroline — April 30, 2011 at 4:21 pm

Delicious! Who knew it was that east
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Maris — April 30, 2011 at 4:29 pm

Oooh I bet this is so delicious! You always have the best pictures!
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Liz — April 30, 2011 at 4:53 pm

Thanks for the post – it is hard to buy peanut butter without palm oil or partially hydrogenated oils. I will try this!
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Shirleen — April 30, 2011 at 11:03 pm

Didn't realise homemade peanut butter was that easy to make! I'd like to try and make some once my store-bought one is finished…which won't take too long 'cos like you, I have peanut butter almost daily! Thanks for posting this.
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Wes — May 1, 2011 at 3:00 am
What do you do if you like crunchy peanut butter?
- Dana replied: — May 1st, 2011 @ 3:39 am
  
  I haven't made it, but I would fathom a guess that it would work if you separated the peanuts into two groups – one slightly more than half of the peanuts, the other slightly less. Blend the first group until it's smooth, like above, and then blend the second group until they are just in little pieces. Combine the two for crunchy peanut butter
  - handleheat replied: — May 2nd, 2011 @ 4:43 am
    
    Good idea!
- handleheat replied: — May 1st, 2011 @ 3:41 am
  
  Wes, you could process for less time so that the peanuts are chunkier and/or mix in a handful of chopped peanuts
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Karin van D. — May 1, 2011 at 6:09 am

I love that first picture! The children here eat a lot of peanut butter. Not sure if I am going to make it myself, since we already buy organic peanutbutter with just peanuts in it, but it sure looks like an easy enough little project. Maybe the little ones will like to make some sometime, that would be fun!
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skylar — May 2, 2011 at 3:24 am

I love making my own peanut butter! So easy and delicious and its fun to try out different peanuts and flavor combinations! Im really excited for this new series! Replacing store-bought staples with homemade is always something I try to do more and more!
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Sanjeeta kk — May 2, 2011 at 4:41 am

I love honey in this peanut butter! Looks scrumptious.
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Jen Schall — May 5, 2011 at 2:12 am

Yum I love making as many things myself as I can. I need to add peanut butter to my list… This does look dreamy!
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Monica — May 7, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I eat peanut butter from the jar all the time…it is my weakness! I have to admit that while I would love to try homemade peanut butter, I am sketical that the texture would be what I like. Is this peanut butter smooth or somewhat on the grainy side?
- handleheat replied: — May 11th, 2011 @ 12:39 am
  
  Monica – I'd have to say the texture of homemade peanut butter is slightly less smooth than commercial peanut butter.
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Heather — May 10, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Can you make this without a food processor? Like maybe a blender? I yearn for a food processor–but until that day…
-Heather
- handleheat replied: — May 11th, 2011 @ 12:41 am
  
  You could use a blender (I don't have one so I haven't tried it), just make sure you're stirring/scraping sides with a spatula every minute or so to ensure it is being evenly pureed.
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Rachel @ Bakerita — May 15, 2011 at 7:46 am

I'm new to reading your blog…and I'm obsessed!
You're a great writer and post such interesting recipes.
I make almond butter at least once a week, but for some reason I've never even considered making homemade peanut butter!
Thanks for the idea!
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Mônica Gemin — August 30, 2011 at 11:32 pm

Hi! Thanks for post. Unfortunately, my peanuts insist on not turning into a smooth paste! I've tried your recipe twice, but it didn't work, even though I added some oil… What do you think I'm doing wrong..?
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handleheat — August 31, 2011 at 5:38 am

Hi there, thanks for your comment! My first thought is perhaps your food processor or blender has dull blades or simply isn't powerful enough. It's hard to tell what could be going wrong without being right there in the kitchen. Homemade peanut butter will also never be quite as smooth as commercial peanut butter, we just don't have the same heavy-duty equipment at home! But it should still be pretty smooth.
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Betsy — March 3, 2012 at 3:06 am

Where do you recommend the best bargains on peanuts?
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Simone — April 26, 2012 at 7:10 pm
How long will this pb last in the fridge?
- handleheat replied: — April 26th, 2012 @ 10:14 pm
  
  At least a month, probably two! The oil will separate so you will have to stir it to reincorporate.