Famous american treat, peanut butter is a spread that goes well with sweet food. It is incidentally often eaten with a simple slice of white bread and some jam (that’s House of Cards’ Frank Underwoods favorite snack, for good reason). It seems like something that would be very difficult to make, but that’s simply not the case, as you will discover.

Prep time : 10 to 15 minutes (without shelling)

Ingredients :

– 200 g unsalted peanuts
– 1 to 3 tablespoons vegetal oil (sunflower or any other oil with no strong taste)
– 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation
Start by shelling the peanuts until you have enough (also remove their brown skins). If you can’t find unsalted peanuts, you can use salted ones and wash them quickly, before drying them with a paper towel. Put a pan on medium heat, add a tablespoon of sunflower oil, then the peanuts. This roasting step will intensify the taste of the peanut, and will make for a richer butter. Warning, you need to be very careful about the peanuts, and move them around regularly so that they do not burn ; this can happen quickly!

Once the peanuts are colored, let them cool down a bit. Put them in a blender then, as well as the oil and the sugar. Mix, and stop regularly to stir with a spoon and check the consistency of the paste. Once the butter is done, keep it in the fridge, in a closed jar.

Tips
The amount of oil you put in the blender will define the consistency of your paste : the more oil you add, the creamier and the more fluid it will be ; on the contrary, with little oil it will be drier.

To get a creamy and crunchy peanut better, remember to add a bit more peanuts to roast, and keep them aside. While the preparation is in the blender (with at least 3 tablespoons of oil to get a smooth mix), crush them in a mortar, then add them to the butter once it is finished!

Also published on Medium.

This post is also available in: French