Recipe: Homemade Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter
rec.food.cooking/Alan Boles (1999)

1 lb peanuts, shelled raw
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon peanut oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the nuts in a jelly roll or roasting pan and bake them for 20 minutes, shaking the pan now and then; they should be *light* gold. Cool the peanuts, then proceed in either of the following ways:

CREAMY: Put half the nuts in the container of a food processor (or jar of a blender) with half of the salt, sugar and oil. Process to a creamy consistency (stopping the action and scraping down the sides of the container often wih a spatula), then empty the peanut butter into a bowl and repeat with the remaining nuts, salt, sugar and oil.

CHUNKY: Use the processor to chop about one third of the nuts coarsely; se aside, then process the remaining nuts, salt, sugar and oil to a creamy consistency. Stir together with the chopped nuts. Or use a blender as follows: Do half of the nuts at a time and scrape down he sides of the container and scrape under the blades several times. Process to as crunchy a texture as you wish. It's not necessary to chop part of the nuts first for blender chunky peanut butter.

TO STORE: Store refrigerated, in a covered jar, where it will keep for about two weeks.