Make Your Own Peanut Butter...

Make Your Own Peanut Butter

Can we talk peanut butter for a second? I was totally one of those picky-eater kids growing up, I had a major peanut butter and jelly phase. And even though my palette has (I hope) matured since then-I think I was on to something. Because peanut butter is AWESOME! So I thought it would be fun to try and make my own-which was a great success! And then I whipped up a chocolate version... here's how you can make your own:

To make peanut butter at home all you need is: 16 ounces of dry roasted peanuts (more or less depending on how much you want to make at once) a pinch or two of salt and a food processor.

Place all the peanuts in your food processor and blend for 8-10 minutes. Every 2-3 minutes you may need to stop the processor and use a spoon to break up the peanuts/scrap down the sides of the bowl. At first the mixture will get crumbly/powder-y... just keep on processing because it will turn creamy! Depending on the freshness of your peanuts you may need to add a teaspoon or two of oil (canola, vegetable or peanut oil work well) but it usually is not necessary. Once your peanut butter is creamy, taste it and add a bit of salt if you like. Store in an air tight container in your refrigerator for up to a month. If you've ever bought natural peanut butter before you've probably noticed that sometimes a little oil seperation occurs-that's normal, just stir your peanut butter before use if you notice this happens.

Another delicious nutty-spread I adore is Nutella! Here is a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread that is both vegan and gluten free. This recipe is from LookBook CookBook, an awesome blog that has tons of amazing vegan treats.

Needed: 1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, 5-6 tablespoons cocoa (I used dutch-processed), 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 1/4 cup oil (I used vegetable) and 2 tablespoons coconut milk.

In your food process blend up the hazel nuts until they begin to get creamy (5-7 minutes) then add the other ingredients and blend for another minute or two until well combined. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. This spread will be a little thicker than the homemade peanut butter-but it's delicious! 

Some recipes that require a food processor can be done in a blender-this is not one of those recipes. Unless you have a really high-end, high-powered blender I highly recommend using a food processor. :)

Make Your Own Peanut Butter

Can we talk peanut butter for a second? I was totally one of those picky-eater kids growing up, I had a major peanut butter and jelly phase. And even though my palette has (I hope) matured since then-I think I was on to something. Because peanut butter is AWESOME! So I thought it would be fun to try and make my own-which was a great success! And then I whipped up a chocolate version... here's how you can make your own:

To make peanut butter at home all you need is: 16 ounces of dry roasted peanuts (more or less depending on how much you want to make at once) a pinch or two of salt and a food processor.

Place all the peanuts in your food processor and blend for 8-10 minutes. Every 2-3 minutes you may need to stop the processor and use a spoon to break up the peanuts/scrap down the sides of the bowl. At first the mixture will get crumbly/powder-y... just keep on processing because it will turn creamy! Depending on the freshness of your peanuts you may need to add a teaspoon or two of oil (canola, vegetable or peanut oil work well) but it usually is not necessary. Once your peanut butter is creamy, taste it and add a bit of salt if you like. Store in an air tight container in your refrigerator for up to a month. If you've ever bought natural peanut butter before you've probably noticed that sometimes a little oil seperation occurs-that's normal, just stir your peanut butter before use if you notice this happens.

Another delicious nutty-spread I adore is Nutella! Here is a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread that is both vegan and gluten free. This recipe is from LookBook CookBook, an awesome blog that has tons of amazing vegan treats.

Needed: 1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, 5-6 tablespoons cocoa (I used dutch-processed), 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 1/4 cup oil (I used vegetable) and 2 tablespoons coconut milk.

In your food process blend up the hazel nuts until they begin to get creamy (5-7 minutes) then add the other ingredients and blend for another minute or two until well combined. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. This spread will be a little thicker than the homemade peanut butter-but it's delicious! 

Some recipes that require a food processor can be done in a blender-this is not one of those recipes. Unless you have a really high-end, high-powered blender I highly recommend using a food processor. :)

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