I don’t know if any other families out there are the same, but we. Love. Peanut butter! Well, anything peanut, really. We are fortunate to have no nut allergies which makes those not-wanting-to-eat-anything phases so much easier. Raw, roasted, as butter, as sauce, you name it, we enjoy it!
We also love to make our own peanut butter. It is one of Moose’s favourite things to create in the kitchen. It is easy and he’s able to be as creative as he wants to make his flavours.
Moose getting creative in the kitchen with peanuts!
I have a super yummy recipe for peanut sauce that I love LOVE with so many meal ideas and my favourite part is the creeping heat of chile flakes that are in it. I decided to take the delicious heat of those pepper flakes and make a spicy peanut butter! Not so much for the kiddos, but for the grown-ups to indulge in after bedtime!
Never made peanut butter? It’s seriously one of the easiest things we’ve ever made around here. I honestly wonder why we hadn’t made it sooner when I realized how simple it actually was! You only need a food processor and a couple ingredients. It’s so versatile that you can add any extra fun flavours you want! We’ve tried a few things but never chiles. Today was the day!
First: the peanuts. We always have peanuts in the house and I’ve experimented with salted and unsalted. They both turn out well but for this time, I used salted, roasted peanuts! I didn’t want to make a huge batch so I only used 1 cup in my food processor.
In they go!
Turn the processor on low for 3-5 minutes and let it grind those peanuts up. There’s an interesting series of events which unfold:
Step 1: the chopped up but phase.
Step 2: the weird play clay phase
Step 3: the almost-there phase!
Once the peanuts have been pulverized to look like this, it’s time to taste and add fun stuff! Since I used salted peanuts, I didn’t have to add any salt. If you use unsalted then you can add salt to taste. I DID, on the other hand, add some sweetness to the mix in the form of Manuka honey. This strong honey packs a healthy punch and makes the butter sweet too! I only used 1 1/2 tsp and it made this batch super sweet.
Mmmm, love that dark caramel colour that Manuka honey has!
Now for the spicy feature! I had no idea how much/little chile flakes to add so I just gave my container a couple decent shakes. I’m guessing I added a good 1 Tbsp. 
Turn up the heat!
Now blend it again for a good minute or so and check your consistency.
I’ve found that salted peanuts grind into a thicker, pastier butter than their unsalted counterparts, as seen below:
A little to dry for my liking!
This is a super easy fix though. Just add a tsp of oil at a time and mix for a good minute, then check the consistency. I don’t have any peanut oil in the house right now so I used a couple small spoons of coconut oil.
This stuff adds to the overall depth of flavour in my opinion!
After mixing it for another 2 or so minutes, the oils really started releasing from the peanuts to add to the silkiness and creaminess of our peanut butter.
Much. Better. See those pretty little chile flakes??
I’m not certain I’d slap this on a sandwich (however if the bread was right…), but I was aiming for something to dip apples, celery, and delightful artisan crackers into.
Boy howdy, that mess is delicious
A batch will keep in the fridge up to 2 weeks. We’ve never had it last that long though! (Again, peanut butter fanatics over here!)
I will for sure be making this one again. The amount of chiles is entirely variable to accommodate to your taste so, much is the honey and the salt. I really do not want to write down amounts since you can be the one to judge! Let me know if you try this or even just regular peanut butter. What add-ins do you like? I’m tinkering with the idea of crumbled bacon…mmmmmmm. But for now, I’m off to cut up an apple and dig in!
Enjoy!
K.
moosebirdsprout 