I cannot figure out why some people like to just store buy every little thing when some things are so incredibly simple to make on your own - and not to mention so much more healthy! I made my own peanut butter last night. It's just such a simple little thing to make. I like the thought of being able to create a flavor my own palate would enjoy.
So here's what I did
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Jori's Simplistically Sweet Peanut Butter
Ingredients:
~ Approximately 15-20 ounces unsalted peanuts (Walmart carries 20 oz tin containers by Ann's House for cheap for the cost-effective method. I rather go to my health food store and pick some up in bulk)
~ Safflower oil
~ Natural Honey (you can buy this at Walmart in 3 lb. containers - its my favorite when I'm trying to be cost-effective. Otherwise, your health food store is always best)
~ Kosher Salt, if desired
Directions (and you can honestly come up with whatever works best for you, this is just simply how I did it):
1. I use a small food processor, so I can only fit about 1 1/2 cups of peanuts at a time. So I started with that. Process until finely chopped.
2. Even after they're chopped, it's still pretty packed in there, so I go ahead and add my safflower oil. Add in tablespoons at a time to find out what you like the most. I used 4 tablespoons. Continue to process until well distributed.
3. By now, I've made more room because the oil tightly combines all of the chopped nut pieces. So if I want chunky peanut butter, I'll go ahead and add some more peanuts right now. If you decide to do this, go ahead and process for a bit to distribute everything evenly. This step can take some time because everything is pretty stuck, so be patient.
4. Go ahead and add your honey and salt (if you want either. Salt is going to be good if you're like me and used unsalted peanuts). I would say that if you decide no on the honey, then add at least a 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. I made a few different batches so I could have different tastes with different food items. For example, I made one batch with 2 tbsp of honey to use with celery. I'm not a fan of celery, but it does make a good snack as long as it's sweet enough from my peanut butter : )
Ingredients:
~ Approximately 15-20 ounces unsalted peanuts (Walmart carries 20 oz tin containers by Ann's House for cheap for the cost-effective method. I rather go to my health food store and pick some up in bulk)
~ Safflower oil
~ Natural Honey (you can buy this at Walmart in 3 lb. containers - its my favorite when I'm trying to be cost-effective. Otherwise, your health food store is always best)
~ Kosher Salt, if desired
Directions (and you can honestly come up with whatever works best for you, this is just simply how I did it):
1. I use a small food processor, so I can only fit about 1 1/2 cups of peanuts at a time. So I started with that. Process until finely chopped.
2. Even after they're chopped, it's still pretty packed in there, so I go ahead and add my safflower oil. Add in tablespoons at a time to find out what you like the most. I used 4 tablespoons. Continue to process until well distributed.
3. By now, I've made more room because the oil tightly combines all of the chopped nut pieces. So if I want chunky peanut butter, I'll go ahead and add some more peanuts right now. If you decide to do this, go ahead and process for a bit to distribute everything evenly. This step can take some time because everything is pretty stuck, so be patient.
4. Go ahead and add your honey and salt (if you want either. Salt is going to be good if you're like me and used unsalted peanuts). I would say that if you decide no on the honey, then add at least a 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. I made a few different batches so I could have different tastes with different food items. For example, I made one batch with 2 tbsp of honey to use with celery. I'm not a fan of celery, but it does make a good snack as long as it's sweet enough from my peanut butter : )
5. Store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months - if you can resist it for that long! Or you could freeze it. OR...you could bottle it up and give as a gift : )
The nice thing about making it, and this particular recipe to be exact, is that it is SO easy to eat it sooner than two months and that's okay because it is better for you than most conventional store-bought products.
Note: The reason I don't buy salted peanuts and just use kosher salt is because I feel I have control over the sodium level. I don't like to use salted anything really because a lot of it is unnecessary. I even do this with my margarine. So what, who cares if it makes the margarine more crumbly? I know I'm making a difference in my diet and it tastes exactly the same.
Also, if you don't have safflower oil, you could replace it with most other oils, but peanut oil would be the best substitute. NEVER (!) use olive oil!
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Once I finished making up batches of my yummy peanut butter, I went ahead and did some frozen peanut butter balls as well : ) I couldn't resist another peanut butter snack!
So I had my sweet husby (thanks hun!) cut some squares of wax paper out while I made up the peanut butter balls; on some of them, I added a few drops of pure vanilla extract, and mixed it in with my hands.
Then we just wrapped them up in the wax paper and let them freeze up all the way. I ate one tonight and it was divine!
Peanut butter is my new chocolate :D
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