Peanutella!

For a long time, I've wanted a food processor. When I would read a recipe and get to the part where it says "use your food processor to . . ." I would be sad I didn't have a food processor. But I never got around to getting one. It seemed like a lot of work to figure out the best possible value in food processors.

Then the stars aligned to present me with Smitten Kitchen's recipe for chocolate-peanut spread, a killer sale on a Cuisinart Prep7, and a gift certificate usable at Macy's. So I got my food processor, and it was so worth it!

If you're like me, you don't get the appeal of Nutella. But that's because if you're like me, you don't get the appeal of hazelnuts. Hazelnut is right up there with coffee as a flavor that will keep me from trying a dessert.

So when Deb at Smitten Kitchen devised PEANUTella, I knew I had to try it. I've made it a couple of times now, and this is the method that works best for me (a non-gourmet, non-discriminating, lazy cook)

Lazy Cook Peanutella
Peanuts - about 2 cups. More or less. Whatever you have is fine. Planters dry roasted works, so don't worry about buying raw peanuts and toasting them yourself. I did toast the Planters ones for a couple of minutes the last time I made this, but I don't think it made a huge difference. Honestly, I suspect a couple of cups of peanut butter and some oil would work too.

Powdered sugar -- a little less than a cup. More if you want it sweeter, less if you want it less sweet. I used the full amount SK recommended last time (1.25 cups) and I thought it was great. But I didn't have 1.25 cups this time, so I used less. I liked it better.

Oil -- a few tablespoons? A couple of drizzles? I used avocado oil one time, olive oil another, and corn oil this time. I'm not sure it matters if it's a light tasting oil. I wouldn't use a strong oil unless you want the taste.

Cocoa -- 1/2 cup Hershey's one time, Green & Black's organic another time, a little of this and a little of that another time. I didn't notice a significant difference any time.

Procedure
Toast the peanuts if you want. Smitten Kitchen says 400 degrees for ten minutes. That seemed like a lot of work to me. Especially since you have to shake the pan a few times to get them evenly roasted. I don't have that kind of motivation!

Grind peanuts in a food processor with a drizzle or two of oil. DO NOT use your blender unless you have a hardcore, heavy duty blender. I may or may not have ruined my blender by trying to make this recipe before I got the food processor. SK recommends 5 minutes until they liquefy. Yes, liquefy. If you're looking at your peanuts and wondering, "Is this liquefied?" the answer is "no." You'll be watching your peanuts whirring around and all of a sudden, poof, liquid! Like magic.

You could be lazy -- and I wouldn't judge you -- and not wait for the liquefied state, and it will work just fine. But it won't be smooth and drizzly. It'll be chunky and stiff. But it'll still be yummy yummy yummy. It took about 8 minutes for my peanuts to liquefy. Based on Smitten Kitchen's comments, liquefying time varies. If you think it has been too long, try adding a bit more oil. I waited for the liquefied state the third time I made this, and it's well worth the extra couple of minutes.

Once you have liquid peanuts, add the sugar and cocoa and whirl it until well blended and back to the liquidy state.

Pour into a container and serve. It is excellent on toasted sourdough, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and bananas. I'm sure it's excellent on other things too. It supposedly lasts a week in the refrigerator. I wouldn't know.