PB Day One - Peanut Butter from a blender

Ahh, Peanut Butter.

According to Wikipedia, Peanut Butter is "a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America and the Netherlands. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, especially in the iconic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The United States and China are leading exporters of peanut butter."

And the Almighty Wikipedia is right: it's mostly just ground peanuts.

And to make your own, you need a grinding device. Say hello to my little friend:


This is my blender. She's had a long life, mostly filled with tequila, ice, and limeade. She's looking a little worse-for-the-wear, but seriously, she has had a loooooong life. I'm pretty sure she pre-dates the iPod.

Obviously, food processors work. I don't have one.

The base of peanut butter is the simplest of ingredients:

Dry roasted peanuts, peanut oil, and salt. Seriously, that's it. And if you're using salted peanuts, you can omit the salt completely.

Dump the peanuts and salt into the blender. I think recipe writing is the only place where I read the word "dump" and don't giggle.

We'll start with a slow grind...I think my blender calls it "Grate".

Keep on Gratin', girl.

My blender likes to make a funnel:

It can be tamped down with a spoon.

After an infamous margarita mishap, my dear friend Katie could tell you that you should do this step while the blender is NOT running.

Continue to grind the nuts to desired consistency...

Mine's not exactly powder, it's still a little crunchy. It's a texture thing, totally your preference.

Now we need oil:

Drizzle it in while the blender is running.

Keep blending, it will eventually come together into Wikipeda's lovely description "food paste".

And here it is in it's Sandwich Spread glory:

It's such a pretty color, don't you think?

I prefer a sweeter peanut butter (I'm a total food snob, I know), so I added honey and (eek!) marshmallow fluff to mine (Dude, I have kids). This recipe is just a base and can be adapted to suit the taste of any peanut butter snob.

Peanut Butter

(adapted from a recipe at peanutbutterlovers.com)

3 Cups dry roasted peanuts

3 Tbsp peanut oil

1 Tbsp salt (omit if using salted peanuts)

Grind peanuts and salt together in a blender or food processor. Process to desired consistency. Drizzle in peanut oil, blend completely.

Store in air tight container.

Now, what should I make with this lovely peanut butter?