image credit: Stephanie Manley, CopyKat Recipes

The best peanut butter I ever had didn’t come out of a jar but out of a food processor in my kitchen. If you feel bogged down finding high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and other additives in standard peanut butter brands, or don’t want to spend the extra money on organic there’s a secret you should know: you can make your own peanut butter. And it’s ridiculously simple.

All you need are:

roasted peanuts

honey (optional)

salt

oil

food processor

You can either roast the peanuts yourself in the oven (remember to cool them before adding them to the food processor), or buy roasted peanuts from the store. But be conscientious: if you buy honey roasted peanuts check the ingredients, to make sure it isn’t hiding corn syrup solids or high fructose corn syrup.

Below is a video from Stephanie Manleys, of CopyKat Recipes, showing more detailed instructions.

For an alternative method, Alton Brown of the Food Network, makes his peanut butter in a wok. But you can use either a standard fry pan, or no pan at all and just put your cooled and roasted peanuts directly into the food processor.

Once you’ve made your own peanut butter and tasted how natural, creamy (or crunchy depending on your preference) you’ll never opt to spend money on store-bought jars again.