My perfect peanut butter

I’ve been making my own peanut butter for several months now (thanks to my handy food processor). But after weeks of “that’s not quite right” and “that barely even resembles peanut butter,” I think I’ve found my ideal recipe.

Why the caveat declaring this my ideal recipe, but not THE ideal recipe? Different brands of store-bought peanut butter taste mostly the same. Once you choose creamy or chunky, you know what you’re going to get.

But when you start making your own peanut butter, the possibilities are endless. Don’t have much of a sweet tooth? Go all natural with a single-ingredient (peanuts, of course!) PB. If you prefer a sweeter peanut butter, will you sweeten with sugar or honey? Want to create the creamy version of honey-roasted peanuts? Add copious amounts of honey and salt.

As you might have guessed, I’m all about sweet peanut butter. Because I love taste of honey, which is stronger than sugar and comes through in the PB flavor, I chose it as my sweetener. Alas, adding only honey to the peanuts creates a dry, crumbly mess in the food processor. Oil didn’t help much, but butter did.

Here’s the recipe, adapted from The Purposed Heart:

• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Dash of salt

Blend the ingredients in the food processor until they form a ball and the ball thins out. Store in the refrigerator.

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