Homemade Peanut Butter

A few weeks ago I turned 2 1/2 pounds of raw peanuts into a TON of peanut butter.  I assumed it would have been months before I had to make it again.  I really underestimated the peanut butter demand in this house, because in just about a month here I am making it again.  Good thing it is so easy and cheap to make.

What you will need:

2 - 2 1/2 pounds of raw peanuts
Baking sheet
Food processor
Pinch of salt, optional

I had a surprisingly difficult time finding raw peanuts by the pound.  Neither the Whole Foods or Trader Joe's near my house sold them, which surprised me.  I found them at an organic health food store quite a distance from my house.  My husband also found them online here.  Check your local health food store for availability.  Two and a half pounds of peanuts from the organic store ran about $8.00.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.  Spread the nuts onto the baking tray evenly.  This is what 2 pounds of raw peanuts looks like.

Roast the nuts in your heated oven for about 30-40 minutes.  Keep checking them so that they don't burn.  They should have a light golden brown color to them.

Once they are done let them cool for about 10 minutes then transfer them into your food processor.

Then turn on your food processor and let it do its thing.  They will have to spin for quite awhile.   

Here are the peanuts after about one minute of spinning....

 ...and here they are after about 3 minutes of spinning..... starting to resemble peanut butter!!  If you are going to add a teaspoon of salt, now would be when you would do that.

Finally after about 5-7 minutes of processing, you have yourself some beautiful, creamy, all natural, no additives, and preservative free peanut butter!

Transfer to any type of jar... try and make sure most of it ends up in the jar and not your mouth.  This is my yield of peanut butter from exactly 2 pounds.  Adjust the amount to your needs.  Store the peanut butter in your fridge for as long as you like! I can guarantee it will be consumed long before it spoils!

Enjoy!!