Homemade Peanut + Chocolate Spread

Are you new around here? Probably not...but if you are then you need to know that in my life peanut butter is kind of a big deal (I also can't talk properly so pronounce it peanut budda but that's another story).

Anyways, so this is about my ninth recipe involving peanut butter so I thought it was time to try making my own and it ended up so much easier than I thought it would be. I'd heard a lot about people making their own in the past, but had always assumed it would end up being more complicated then everyone let on. It wasn't. Grab some peanuts, put them in a food processor and press da button. 

The peanuts will go from being finely chopped, to sticking together in a big lump and then finally, they become a smooth paste that resembles the peanut butter we all know and love. This takes about 10 minutes in total (may be quicker if your food processor is better than mine...which is probably is). You can then add honey or sugar to sweeten to your own taste, some salt and any added extras ya fancy.

I decided to add some cocoa to mine as peanuts and chocolate always go together in my world. You could try doing the same recipe with different kinds of nuts - cashews, almonds, hazlenuts etc and try adding other extras for different flavours.

Spread it on toast or eat it out the jar, anyway you want to enjoy it's always gunna be goooood.

Ingredients:
350g shelled and skinned, unsalted peanuts (See note below)
4 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
8 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tbsp peanut oil

(Makes 1 medium sized jars worth - about 500g)

Note - Buy shelled and skinned peanuts! I was all "oh, they're cheaper in the shells!" so bought them unshelled. I then had the fun task of shelling them all. It did nothing for my nails and got fairly tedious quickly so spend a bit more money and save yourself the time, just make sure they are unsalted. If you can only find raw unshelled peanuts, toast them in an oven at 400°C for about 10 minutes to deepen the flavour. 

To Make:

• Put all the peanuts in a food processor and grind them for about 5-10 minutes. They'll go through the stages I already talked about above. Just stop and scrap the sides down every few minutes. 

• Add the cocoa, sugar, salt and 1 tablespoons of the oil to the food processor and continue to process until well blended, about 1 minute.
• Add more salt if needed. 
• Add 1 more tablespoon of oil if the consistency seems too thick.  

• Pop into a jar or a small pot and cover. 
• Store in the fridge for up to a week, if it lasts that long.