Piece of life
For a long time, I have denigrated peanut butter. It seemed to me to be the worst food possible. Why? Well, frankly, I don’t know; one of those preconceptions should be avoided. Even after I moved to Quebec, it took me many years to try it. And my first attempts were pretty bad. The texture surprised me at first [it’s quite pasty], and I hadn’t chosen the best quality. But with time and good advice, it became a revelation. Peanut butter has become indispensable at our house, and it’s the only thing my boy wants to spread on his bread for breakfast. I have to buy it in a 2 kg format to last more than a month.
Star ingredient: peanut butter
Let me tell you more about this product and guide you in its discovery [I want to spare you my bad experiences].
What is peanut butter?
It is simply a peanut paste. Peanuts are rich in oil [the famous peanut oil], and by crushing them, the oil is released, and the mass liquefies [as with all nuts]. The longer you mix them, the more liquid the paste becomes; that is how you get peanut butter.
Can you make butter from other nuts?
Definitely!
Almond, hazelnut, cashew nut butter… It’s the same principle. And if you mix hazelnut butter with chocolate, it will give you a wonderful spread, much better than the famous one of our childhood.
How to choose peanut butter?
There are 2 kinds of peanut butter: creamy and crunchy. The creamy one is completely crushed, so it is smooth; the crunchy one has small pieces of peanuts, giving a little crispiness. This choice is only a question of taste, my preference goes for the crunchy one.
What is essential is to choose a natural nut butter, i.e. a product that contains only peanuts [no sugar, no salt, no additives…]. In some bulk stores [Vrac en folie, Bulk Barn, for example], you can even make your butter on the spot; fresher than that, it’s impossible.
But my favorite is Mille et une noix. This Sherbrooke company makes wonderful products. Since I discovered them, I only buy from them, besides their classic butter, you should also try their chocolate hazelnut butter. It’s divine!
About the peanut butter cookies
3 ingredients [and a bit of salt if you want], 5 minutes max to prepare, and 12 minutes cooking time… all is said, right? It’s simple, quick and delicious!
Easy peanut butter cookies with only 3 ingredients
Équipements
- Cookie sheets
Ingredients
- 250 g peanut butter (or any other nuts butter)
- 125 g sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch of salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or silicone mat).
- In a bowl mix the peanut butter with the sugar and salt.
- Add the egg and mix until you obtain a homogeneous paste.
- Cut the dough into 16 identical pieces (approximately, no need to weigh them). To make it easier to cut the dough evenly, you can form a sausage with the dough before cutting it into pieces. Otherwise use a teaspoon.
- Form balls and place them on the sheets, taking care to leave a space between each one. Flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake for about 12 min, until the edges take on a slightly golden color (the cookies will still be soft when they come out of the oven, this is normal. They will dry as they cool). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
