Peanut butter is among those humble and delicious spreads that can be prepared at home in a dash, and enjoyed fresh, preferably on a slice of homemade bread, with some tangy jam. The freshness and the full flavour it rewards you with is incomparable to anything that can be bought from a shop.
I generally prepare my peanut butter neutral in flavour, so it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes, but this one I love as a treat, just perfect for a sweet breakfast with a cup of tea. Flavoured by honey and vanilla, delicious and fragrant, it truly is more suitable as a sweet snack or in desserts.
Acacia honey will always be my favourite for this type of recipes, but you can also use wildflower honey, it will give a marvellous fragrant note to the peanut butter. Even floral honeys, such as orange blossom honey, will work magically in this recipe.
A good thing to keep in mind is that the homemade peanut butter will probably never be as smooth as commercially made ones, and that is fine. And because homemade peanut butters, and nut butters in general, tend to separate as they stand, a bit of oil can come to the top; I like to store my peanut butter in a jar that is ever so slightly larger than necessary, just to make it easier to stir it all through before serving.
Ingredients
400 grams raw, shelled peanuts
50 grams acacia or wildflower honey
40 millilitres peanut oil
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
small pinch of salt, optional
Preparation
Start by lining a large baking tray with baking parchment. Lay out the shelled peanuts evenly, in a single layer, and bake them for 5 minutes, in an oven preheated to 180°C. Take them out of the oven and pour them into a large kitchen towel, and let them cool slightly. Carefully rub the peanuts in the towel until all of the skins come off.
Tip the peanuts into a large bowl, and drizzle over the honey. Using a rubber spatula, mix them well, until they are completely coated in honey. Once again, lay the peanuts on a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment, in a single layer, and bake them in a preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 8 minutes. Carefully remove the tray from the oven; lightly move the peanuts around so they roast evenly, and roast them for about 8 more minutes, or until fragrant and browned.
Remove from the oven, and let them cool down slightly. While they are still warm, add them to a food processor and let it run for about a minute. Turn it off, carefully scrape the sides with a spatula, and blend for a minute more. Repeat this two more times, and then add the oil, salt, and the vanilla, and let the food processor run for about 2-3 minutes more, or until the peanut butter is smooth to your liking.
Taste it, adjust the flavour to your liking, either by adding a teaspoon of honey or another small pinch of salt, and then blend for a minute one last time. Pour the peanut butter into a sterilised jar, close it tightly, and store in the refrigerator up to a month. Yields 450 grams of honey roasted peanut butter.
