A Long-Winded Story About Peanut Butter

Just kidding! I know I am supposed to share some long, unnecessary story about why peanut is amazing for SEO value, but my heart is just not in it right now…and you are here for a recipe after all, not to learn the history of peanut butter and who invented it—but in case you care…

In 1884 Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Canada patented peanut paste, the finished product from milling roasted peanuts between two heated surfaces. In 1895 Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (the creator of Kellogg’s cereal) patented a process for creating peanut butter from raw peanuts. He marketed it as a nutritious protein substitute for people who could hardly chew on solid food. In 1903, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri, patented a peanut-butter-making machine.
National Peanut Board (Yes, this is a real thing…)

So anyway…imma keep it brief if I can. We all already know peanut butter is great. So if you are not already making your own it’s so worth it, and I guess that is why you are here.

Jump to Recipe

Size DOES Matter When It Comes to Food Processors

To start, I do recommend a decent size food processor for this peanut butter recipe, sure it’ll make your life easier, but also in a general sense (I’ll explain more in a sec).

This recipe calls for 3 cups of peanuts, which actually is not that crazy, but if you want to double or triple this even (you know you wanna)…yeah, you could run short on space in a smaller food processor.

I used to have a hand me down, very tiny food processor, and it SUCKED. I mean it worked and everything so of course I thought that was enough being me, but having to process in batches and oftentimes have your FP overflowing and making a mess all over the counter was just not cool. So we upgraded. Nothing crazy, but hell it was so worth it. (I also avidly hate unnecessary kitchen appliances and trinkets, so me saying this should tell you something. It’s worth a small investment.)

Why TF I Sweeten My Peanut Butter

Because I like a little sweetness. There’s not much more to it, sorry. You can easily omit the powdered sugar or sub in a little sea salt to taste. THE CHOICE IS YOURS. SO.MUCH.POWER.

The powdered sugar I use in this recipe is, of course, vegan. Yes, not all sugar is vegan. That is because in processing refined cane sugar or table sugar (same stuff used in powdered sugar), bone char is used to produce that ultra white final product. Indeed it is disgusting, but you can feel safe in knowing that organic sugars are typically fine. Other great substitutes that I love are coconut sugar, maple syrup, agave, or even dates. Here I use powdered sugar because I like the consistency it gives the peanut butter (makes it smoother/fluffier from what I can tell).

The Oil

You could make this recipe oil free, but it’ll require quite a bit more patience because if you are processing just straight peanuts, it could take up to 10 minutes or so (giving your FP breaks so it does not overheat). I personally am too lazy to wait that long and am okay with a bit of oil in my diet, so I use it.

Grapeseed oil works great because it is a neutral oil and doesn’t add any additional flavor. In comparison I would not recommend olive oil, especially extra virgin as it has a strong flavor. But if it’s all you have and you’ve got a craving, it will not be the end of the world. I would just opt out of the sugar in that case and go for a more savory flavor.

I’ve tried coconut oil here before, and it’s definitely nice if you like a mild coconut flavor. I’ve also been wanting to try making this with peanut oil (for obvious reasons), but it just hasn’t happened yet. Let me know if you do in the comments and how it comes out!

Consistency

I don’t mind a little texture to my PB, but if you want a very creamy peanut butter you are going to have to process much longer.

This recipe produces a peanut butter that is relatively creamy with some tiny, course bits, and it has a light fluffiness from the powdered sugar and a mild sweetness. It spreads easily right out of the fridge.

Storage

I used a pint jar to store my peanut butter because I’ve got tons of Ball Jars lying around just waiting to be filled with this liquid gold. If you don’t have Ball jars, anything you have around, such as a glass storage container or jar that you reuse from something else, will work.

I store mine in the fridge and found with this ratio and combination of ingredients, I can pull out peanut, and it’s still nice and spreadable and ready to use without having to let it soften.

I can’t advise to well on how long it keeps for because we always eat it too fast to know… It’s my favorite topping on apples and my fiance, Ed, eats it out of the jar when he thinks I am not looking (actually I don’t think he cares at this point). It also goes perfect in my vegan peanut butter cup recipe.

I hope you enjoy! (And I still managed to write quite a bit even though I intended to keep it brief. If you read to the end, thanks, you are a treasure. If not, you are dead to me. No, no! I jest of course. I totally get it. ?)