Food Fun - Making Homemade Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is an American favorite for kids of all ages, including adults. Nearly one half of all the peanuts grown in America are used for making peanut butter. Peanut butter is not only tasty but also quite nutritious. There is more protein in a pound of peanut butter than in a pound of sirloin steak!

Eating peanut butter is fun. But making peanut butter is even more fun. Every family should at least try making one batch of homemade peanut butter. You will find the texture and consistency of homemade peanut butter is a bit different than store bought peanut butter. But if you have ever purchased one of the "all natural" peanut butter varieties that are now available, you will find that homemade peanut butter is very similar to the all natural brands. Only your homemade peanut butter will still be healthier because it will not contain any preservatives.

To make homemade peanut butter you will need only two ingredients, peanuts and oil. You will also need a blender or a food processor. A food processor is best if you want your homemade peanut butter to have a smooth consistency. If you like chunky style peanut butter than a blender will work.

For the peanuts, it's more fun if you buy them in the shell. The kids will love cracking open the shells and removing the peanuts. And that's what making homemade peanut butter is all about... fun! So have your kids crack open the peanuts and remove the skins and put them in a bowl. You can make this step fun by turing it into a game where anyone who finds a peanut shell with three peanuts inside (instead of the usual two) gets to eat the peanuts instead of putting them in the bowl.

If you want to skip the step of shelling the peanuts you can always use a jar of Planter's peanuts or any store brand peanut. But be sure you get unsalted peanuts or your homemade peanut butter will be too salty. You can buy dry roasted peanuts if you like. Dry roasted peanuts will give the homemade peanut butter a more robust flavor. But again, be sure they are not salted. If all you have is salted peanuts, all is not lost. You can soak the salted peanuts in some warm water and swish them around to remove most of the salt. Do not leave them in the water for more than 30 seconds or so. Then strain the peanuts and dry them a bit with paper towels. Then put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in a 200 degree oven for about 5 minutes to completely dry them off. Then they will be ready to use for making homemade peanut butter.

As for oil, you can use vegetable oil if that's what you have available. You can also use corn oil, canola oil, or for the best peanut butter flavor, you can use peanut oil! But peanut oil can be pricey so do not feel like you have to buy peanut oil to make your homemade peanut butter. Any cooking oil will work just fine.

When you are ready to make your homemade peanut butter, measure out 2 cups of peanuts and put them in a blender or food processor. Then blend until you get the consistency you want. It's best to stop the blender or food processor often and scrape down the sides for an even texture. After you have blended your peanuts, add about two tablespoons of oil and blend some more. You can add more oil if you like, up to about 1/4 cup of oil per two cups of peanuts. Just add the oil a little at a time until you get peanut butter that is the consistency you like. If you want to make super chunky peanut butter, you can add chopped peanuts to your homemade peanut butter. If you don't have a food chopper, you can put some peanuts in a plastic bag and crush them a bit with a hammer.

Use your homemade peanut butter to make sandwiches or to put on crackers or use it in any recipe that asks for peanut butter. Homemade peanut butter is wonderful to use when making peanut butter fudge. You can also thin your homemade peanut butter by adding a bit more oil and using it as a dip for apples or celery. That makes a great snack for the kids! Just remember that your homemade peanut butter does not have any preservatives so you must store any leftover peanut butter in the refrigerator. But you won't have much left over. The kids will eat it all up!

After you make a batch of homemade peanut butter, try your hand at walnut butter, cashew butter, even pecan butter! Just follow the same instructions as above using different nuts. You can even used mixed nuts! You are not limited to peanuts. The different nuts will make unusual flavored butters each with their own texture. Next time you have a party make a tray of different nut butters and serve with crackers. Your guests will love it!

If your kids love crafts, I have some fun craft recipes that they will enjoy. Some are quite unusual craft recipes too! One teaches you how to turn dryer lint into modeling clay. You can read that article here [How to Make Clay from Dryer Lint]. And here are two fun craft recipes that you can make using powdered soap [How to Make Soap Suds Clay and Soap Suds Snow]. If you want updates when I publish more craft articles please use the "subscribe" link at the top of this article.

Source: Caney, Steven. Kids' America. New York, New York: Workman Publishing, 1978