I've always been pretty obsessed with peanut butter. Oh, I like almond butter and cashew butter and pretty much any kind of nut butter you send my way, but peanut butter has always been my favorite.
Come that certain time of the month, when my girlfriends crave chocolate- I've always got my finger in the peanut butter jar. In fact, I can never tell when I'm PMSing until my peanut butter consumption increases (and I get bloated and sleep like a log, but that's neither here nor there).
Several years ago, I worked at a fancy French restaurant and one of the waitresses there was just as crazy about peanut butter as I was. She may or may not have carried a jar in her purse and I may or may not have thought she was a genius for it. She was from New York City and she told me that I needed to hunt down a brand of peanut butter- Peanut Butter & Co.. It was her favorite and supposedly they had all sorts of "flavors." I drove to the nearest Gelson's right after my shift was over and grabbed the only flavor they had in stock- Cinnamon Raisin.
The next day was my day off and I was moving into my swanky (tiny) new (super old but new to me) bachelorette pad in West Hollywood at the time, which did not have a kitchen (just a mini-fridge and a microwave, both of which were in my walk-in closet). I still had a lot of unpacking to do and the only real grocery shopping I'd done since I'd moved in was the late night run to Gelson's the night before and all I had to show for it was a jar of peanut butter. So I spent the day unpacking and every time I got hungry, did I sit down for a regular meal? Did I run to the nearest cafe for a sandwich? No sir! I would just eat a heaping spoonful (or three) of that Cinnamon Raisin peanut butter and continue unpacking.
Later, when I met Chris for dinner, I told him I didn't feel very good. He asked what I'd eaten that day. "Nothing, just peanut bu-... Oh." It was then that I'd realized that I'd been PMSing too.
Recently, I decided to recreate that Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter as well as one of Peanut Butter & Co.'s other incredible flavors, Dark Chocolate (perfect for making my dark chocolate peanut butter ice cream!).
Also, I usually always just make smooth nut butter because that's what the chief PB eater in our house, Sophia, prefers, but Chris and I have always preferred crunchy so I made some Classic Crunchy Peanut Butter too.
Then, partially inspired by the incredible Phoney Baloney's Coconut Bacon and partially inspired by Elvis, I made some of the most incredible Maple Bacon Peanut Butter. Seriously guys- this is one of the best combinations of flavors to have ever happened. I can't stop stuffing dates with it. How often do they say guys think about sex? Like, every six seconds or something like that? That's how often I think about this peanut butter.
Today, I'm sharing with you not only my recipe for plain, smooth peanut butter, but also the variations for making Classic Crunchy, Cinnamon Raisin, Chocolate Fudge, and Maple Bacon. They're all pretty great and you should try them all, but that Maple Bacon... oooh, boy! If you'll excuse me, there's some peanut butter-stuffed dates begging to be eaten...
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted & unsalted peanuts
- salt to taste (optional)
- sweetener to taste (optional, but I add just a 1/2 packet of stevia)
- additional 1 cup of peanuts
- 2 oz. cocoa butter (about 1/2 cup)
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (or cacao powder for a stronger chocolate taste)
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut nectar (or agave nectar)
- 2-3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1 cup raisins
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 - 2/3 cup of coconut bacon (I used Phoney Baloney's)
Instructions
- In your food processor, process the peanuts until they are completely smooth and creamy. You may have to scrape the sides a few times and it may take a little while, but hang in there.
- Once it's smooth, add salt and/or sweetener according to taste. Store in an airtight container.
- Add in the additional peanuts and pulse several times until broken up and chunky.
- Add in the cinnamon and raisins and pulse a few times to incorporate and roughly chop the raisins a bit.
- Melt the cocoa butter in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes (do it in 30 second intervals to make sure you don't overdo it). Add the cocoa butter, coconut nectar (or agave syrup) and the cocoa powder to the peanut butter. Puree until smooth. It will appear liquidy, but don't worry- it will thicken as the cocoa butter hardens.
- Add the maple syrup and process until smooth. Add the coconut bacon and pulse a few times to incorporate.
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What's your favorite type of nut butter?
Photography by Chris Miller
Beth
I love PB, too! I used to buy the PB&Co. Cinnamon-Raisin and Dark Chocolate Dreams all the time until I realized I could make it myself for a lot less. I was making the cinnamon-raisin PB on a regular basis and eating it daily until I realized I couldn't eat cinnamon! That PB is one of the things I miss most! But, I've been pretty happy with crunchy PB in the meantime, and if I really wanted to, I could flavor some with ginger, nutmeg and allspice and add raisins (currently loving the Jumbo Raisin Medley from Trader Joe's). I did make some cocoa-hazelnut butter last year (Nutella knockoff), but didn't like it as much. I think the roasted hazelnuts were too strong flavored for me.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I LOVE all of these delicious looking butters! I've been known to grab a spoon and a jar of peanut butter and call it a day : )
Emily - It Comes Naturally Blog
I was thinking about that this morning and I think my favourite is almond butter - it's just so naturally sweet, and a bit more gloopy than peanut butter. I'd love to try some of those flavour combinations though - I've never seen them in the UK.
Angela @ Canned Time
Oh my goodness Kristy...I read this at a stop light coming home from work today and had to go straight to the kitchen and scoop out a big glob of my 🙁 plain ole boring flavored peanut butter just to stop the cravings from reading your recipes, and the pics, of course, make your stomach growl. I've tried making Trader Joe's Cookie Butter a couple times, that's my absolute favorite spread flavor, but it never came out as well. Hopefully I'll have better success trying out these beauties. Cinnamon Raisin will probably come first. YUMMDEDUMDUM Girl ;0
Kelli
Oh yum! I looove peanut butter and these all look so good. I can't wait to make them!
Richa
oh my.. that is a lot of good good peanut butter! so smooth and love the flavors!
Tami@Nutmeg Notebook
I must admit those look amazing! I like good ole peanut butter and almond butter.
Sarojini
That coconut bacon one sounds amazing! I make that from time to time, and we always have home made nut butters in the pantry, but putting them together is a stroke of genius 🙂
Emma
Oh my Kristy, this has got me all dizzy with excitement! I don't know how I lived before discovering nut butter! It's a toss up between almond and peanut for me.
I adore the Cinna-Raisin PB & Co but they don't sell it any more over here. I have got through many jars of the Dark chocolate dreams though.
And that maple bacon flavour? I have got to try out this coconut bacon which is all the rage right now!
janae @ bring joy
I think I must be the last one on the coconut bacon boat. Because until this week I'd never heard of it, but I'm seeing it everywhere! (Please tell me I'm not the only one.)
Love all the variations on nut butter--a few good nut butters is essential to every vegans cupboard, imo 🙂
slywlf
Wow - I must be out of touch - this is the first I've even heard of coconut bacon :-/ Guess I'd better check in with my (not quite as local as I wish) health food store! BTW - glad I saw your post - now I have another RSS subscription warmed up - that soup sounds yummy 😉
Anna {Herbivore Triathletre}
My favorite nut butter is cashew, then almond and finally peanut butter. That said, I will eat any kind of nut butter that is available and love it.
You are blowing my mind with this post. I mean, seriously?!?! All the flavors sound and look absolutely amazing. Love the maple bacon one, I bet that it's incredible.
Hannah
Heaven. I eat between 1/3-1/2 jar of peanut butter 'most every night... so probably I'm PMS-ing 365 days a year.
Maggie Muggins
I am obsessed with peanut butter! I could (and do) eat it every single day, it's kind of ridiculous. I've made maple PB before but I'm afraid to make any more PB & co knock offs because I'll just eat it all 😉 you're flavour combos are just killing me right now!
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal
OMG there is too much amazing in here to say. I LOVE peanut butter and man... all these varieties make my heart sing!
Annie
Obsessed with peanut butter, you say? Hmmm, wonder how that feels ;-)??
slywlf
Welcome to the Sisterhood of the PB spoon 😉 I used to keep a small jar in my office desk drawer, another in my car and still another in my dance bag. I am long past worrying about PMS and it's red sister (I still get some symptoms, but nothing like they used to be - whew!) but I can still set my lunar clock by my PB cravings 😉 Cinnamon-raisin English muffins topped with crunchy PB, sliced banana and a scant drizzle of honey was Breakfast of Champions for years 😉
Definitely going to try a couple of these - and I just got a fresh batch of organic fresh ground from the health store 😉
rika
I love peanut butter...and it has to be on everything else!
Cadry
I love the way you think! These all sound so good. Chunky peanut butter was always my favorite, but since I make my own now, I was always stuck with smooth. I hadn't thought about just adding more peanuts at the end to roughly chop them. Brilliant! And of course, adding coconut bacon is a marvelous idea. Sadly, I just polished off my final bag last night. These are sad days indeed...
Caitlin
you are a genius. i want ALL the peanut butters! and, i'm just like you- yeah sure, almond butter and pecan butter are great, but peanut butter is the only one that makes my heart skip a beat. i could only eat peanut butter like you all day long and never complain about it...even if i was left feeling like there was a rock in my stomache (that's what happens when i overload on the pb).
Heather
I was just talking to my girlfriend about our peanut butter addictions, I can no longer keep a jar ay my desk or with will be gone within the week! White Chocolate Wonderful from PB & Co is my fave with cinnamon raisin swirl and dark chocolate dreams coming in pretty high on my list- the maple bacon sound incredible too! I have to say I love peanut butter the most and then almond butter- so yummy and easy to make!
Melissa
Hey! This looks delicious. Do you think I'd be able to make this (and other nut butters) in a Ninja blender instead of a food processor? I don't have a nice enough food processor to use it to make nut butters, but I just got the blender and have yet to rip it out of the box and try it out. Do you have any experience with/knowledge of using the high-speed blender for nut butters?
Sarah
I got my 5 lbs of peanuts in the mail from nuts.com today, so the first thing I am making is the maple bacon peanut butter. The peanuts are in the oven roasting as I type... I made coconut bacon the other day, it tastes delicious on its own... But I'm very excited for the maple bacon peanut butter combo.
Megan
So this was my first time making peanut butter and I made the maple bacon peanut butter and when I first processed the peanuts they were smooth just like peanut butter and then when I added the maple syrup it turned crumbly, any ideas?
keepinitkind
When you add the maple syrup it will thicken a bit, but I'm not sure why it would've gotten crumbly. I add maple syrup to all of my peanut butter and I've never had that happen. Were your peanuts stale, by chance? I once had almond butter get crumbly (without maple syrup) because the almonds were too stale. I hope that helps!
Megan
I bought my peanuts that day from a local health food store. So I'm not sure...... I guess I'll just make more 🙂
Jesse
Just wow, so much yum here 🙂