Pamela Bennett - Peanut butter sweets

Peanut Butter Sweets

Pamela Bennett

Photographs by Joyce Oudkerk Pool

Peanut Butter Sweets

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2012 Pamela Bennett

Photographs 2012 Joyce Oudkerk Pool

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-2449-3

Michelle Branson and Joyce Oudkerk Pool; artists who encourage me to reach out and catch my star...

Peanut butter was an essential in my mamas kitchen cupboard. It was woven into the everyday fabric of our lives: creamy peanut butter tucked inside hot buttermilk biscuits or generously slathered on bread with homemade blackberry jam, and the unmistakable fragrance of peanut butter cookies, fresh from the oven, awaiting us as we came home from school. Even when our mother became a successful business owner, she literally tucked a small jar of peanut butter in her purse everydayit was her snack of choice. Growing up with peanut butter as a staple, it was only natural that my fifth-grade research project was written on the history of peanuts!

Peanuts were first grown by the Incas in Peru around 950 BC. They gradually made their way from South America to Africa and then onward to Spain, before finding their way to the American colonies. My native North Carolina shows a history of peanuts being planted by the year 1818, although some farmers claim that peanuts were growing there during the Revolutionary War.

George Washington Carver, the great botanist and inventor, promoted planting peanut crops to help poor farmers when their cotton crops failed. He developed over 100 recipes using peanuts as well as developing dyes, paints, cosmetics, even nitroglycerin using the complex, versatile peanut. His scientific research illuminated what we know todaypeanuts are packed with protein and vitamins E and B3; theyre higher in antioxidants than apples or carrots. However, the most important thing ispeanut butter just tastes delicious! It enhances whatever it accompanies. Scientists extol the health benefits of eating peanut butter, but the kitchen of my childhood elevated simple peanut butter treats to rock-star status.

The paradox seems to be that the more we eat peanut butter, the more we enjoy it. Its versatility allows us to never tire of itperfect peanut butter bars, dreamy, creamy peanut butter pie, decadently rich penuche and fudge, gooey lip-smacking pound cake laced with thick peanut butter frosting..., so its little wonder that the average American consumer eats six pounds of peanut butter each year. By the time a teen graduates from high school, she or he has eaten over 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches!

But theres so much more versatility and potential waiting inside each of these legumes. This book will guide you through simple steps, using basic ingredients, to produce amazing goodies. It is filled with mouth-watering recipes of delectable sweet treats featuring peanut butter as the star ingredient: cakes, pies, cookies, candies, toppings, beveragesamazing sweets that you cant imagine how you lived without before now.

Makes 1 to 2 servings

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Makes 2 servings

Combine and mix in a blender. The surprise is the avocado! It helps create a truly smooth smoothie.

*Agave is a plant-based sweetener. You can substitute honey.

Makes 2 servings

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until the ice is well crushed, or if you prefer, blended until smooth.

*Freezing the bananas makes the smoothie much creamier.

**Agave is a plant-based sweetener. You can substitute honey.

Makes 1 to 2 servings

Combine peanut butter, fruit, half of the milk, and the agave in a blender. Process until smooth. Add the ice and continue processing until smooth. Add the remaining milk, if you desire a thinner consistency.

*Agave is a plant-based sweetener. You can substitute honey.

Makes 2 servings

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on low so ice breaks up, but do not over-process.

Makes 4 servings

Combine everything in a blender and process until creamy and smooth. Chill before serving.

Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top before serving in festive holiday glasses.

Makes 2 servings

Process the first 3 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Top with a generous dollop of Reddi-Whip.