It’s hard to believe that I almost overlooked an important food on its special day, March 1. This was set aside as the 2018 National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day.
Seems a little strange to have one day for peanut butter lovers because at our house, every day is peanut butter lover’s day for our family. I guess I had better back up and say for most of us. We have one or two who do not like this tasty spread. If our granddaughter, Meagan, finds out there is peanut butter in a recipe, she immediately marks it off her menu.
When I started thinking about peanut butter, many memories of days gone by came to mind. My husband liked for me to mash a banana with peanut butter, and he would spread it on little crispy round butter crackers. Sometimes we would enjoy a piece of banana with peanut butter spread on one side.
There is always one of our favorite sandwiches — banana (of course) and peanut butter. My husband also liked peanut butter and raisin sandwiches. I guess these would taste a little like peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes when I am enjoying a bowl of vanilla ice cream, I will stir a big spoonful of peanut butter into the ice cream. Yummy!
My favorite peanut butter dessert is one I shared in one of my recent articles — Peanut Butter Cobbler A La Mode. This is so delicious that I believe I could eat it every day for as long as it lasts.
Chocolate fudge is never quite as good when it doesn’t have a little bit of peanut butter swirled in. In addition to adding a wonderful flavor, it also makes the candy smooth. Thrill the palates of old and young with an easy to make peanut butter syrup for their pancakes and waffles. For this tasty treat, simply blend 1/4 cup of peanut butter into a cup of light corn syrup.
Your family might also like the following Chocolate Peanut Butter Bread Pudding.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BREAD PUDDING
1/4 cup butter
6 cups french bread chunks
4 cups chocolate milk, divided
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Combine bread crumbs with 3 1/2 cups of chocolate milk. Set aside. In another bowl,combine remaining 1/2 cup chocolate milk with the sugar, peanut butter and eggs. Beat with a fork until blended. Pour into bowl containing soaked bread chunks. Mix well. Stir in raisins. Pour into pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with White Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce.
WHITE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE
2 squares (1 oz. each) white chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup milk
8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Combine white chocolate with 2 tablespoons milk. Melt white chocolate in microwave. Combine cream cheese, peanut butter and white chocolate mixture in mixing bowl. Beat until blended and add remaining milk and confectioners sugar. Beat until smooth.
NOTE: If using real white chocolate, be very careful melting it in the microwave because sometimes it will clump and you have to start over.
— Prudence Hilburn of Piedmont, Ala., has won more than 30 national cooking awards and written several cookbooks, including, “Simply Southern and More.” Write her at prudencehilburn@aol.com or visit www.prudencehilburn.com.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Celebrating a tasty spread — peanut butter