January 24 is National Peanut Butter Day. This sticky and delicious food is so loved that it is given its own national day.
Keep reading for some interesting peanut butter facts, and the history of this delicious food.
There’s also a recipe at the bottom for soft and chewy peanut butter cookies that’s delicious. Try making the cookies yourself to celebrate this day!
What is peanut butter?
Peanut butter is a spread or paste that is made from ground, dry roasted peanuts. The peanuts can be ground alone or combined with other ingredients to modify the taste of them.
The most common extra ingredients are salt, sugar and emulsifiers of some sort. Peanut butter has the same texture as cashew butter and almond butter.
Oil is often added to peanut butter to give it a smooth and creamy texture. Honey, sugar and other sweetness will change the flavor to a sweeter taste.
Peanut butter is used in all sorts of recipes from bars to savory dishes and the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You can even make a ghostie sandwich for Halloween.
Who invented peanut butter?
In the United States, many people believe that George Washington Carver was the inventor of peanut butter. However, this information isn’t correct.
Mr. Carver promoted the 300+ uses for peanuts – citing peanut butter being one of those uses – but he didn’t actually invent it.
The first commercial-style peanut butter was made in 1884 by Marcus Gilmore Edson developed a process to make peanut paste from milling roasted peanuts between two heated plates.
Edson marketed peanut butter as a nutritious protein substitute for people who had trouble chewing solid food.
Peanut butter facts and history
Brush up on your knowledge of peanut butter with these fun facts.
- The earliest peanut butter spreads were made by the Aztecs and Incas about 1000 BC. This paste was not early as creamy as the peanut butter we love.
- George Washington Carver showed us 300+ uses for using peanuts and that included making peanut butter.
- The inventor of peanut butter was Marcus Gilmore Edson.
- Dr. Ambrose Straub patented a peanut butter making machine in 1903. Americans were first introduced to peanut in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis.
- To make a 12 ounce jar of peanut butter, you will need about 540 peanuts!
- Men like chunky peanut butter, but women and children prefer the smooth type.
- There is a record in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten in one minute. The record is 6 sandwiches set by Patrick Bertoleti in 2012.
- Americans spend more than $800 million in a year on peanut butter.
- One episode of the program Lost featured an imaginary jar of peanut butter being eaten by Claire.
- The average peanut farm is 200 acres.
- 2 Peanut Farmers have been elected president of the USA – Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson and Georgia’s Jimmy Carter.
- One of Bill Clinton’s favorite sandwiches featured peanut butter and bananas.
- During Girl Scout Cookie Season, bakers use about 230,000 pounds of peanut butter each week to bake Tagalongs and Do-si-dos.
- Peanuts grow underground like potatoes do.
- Peanut butter was originally made for people who had no teeth!
- Each year Americans consume enough peanut butter to cover the floor of the Grand Canyon.
- Peanut butter is a good source of vitamin E, B6, niacin, calcium, potassium and iron.
How to observe National Peanut Butter Day
The obvious way to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day is to grab a spoon and go at it with a jar of the stuff. Here are some other ideas!
- Read the book “Peanut Butter and Cupcake” to your child.
- Watch the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon to celebrate the day.
- Share your love of peanut butter with a colorful mug.
- Enjoy the taste of peanut butter without the calories by using PB2.
- Get your fix of peanut butter with one of these delicious peanut butter recipes.
- Use the hashtag #NationalPeanutButterDay to spread the word about the day on social media. Here is a tweet to get you started:
What is a national day?
National days of the year are a fun way to celebrate odd and unusual foods, animals and items that you come into contact with. Be sure to check out my national day’s guide for more fun days to celebrate.
There are close to 2000 National Days in the year and over 150 of them are celebrated in January. Check out this post to discover more about the national days in January, as well as the January word search printable of national days.
Are you a foodie? We also have a special page for the national food days in January.
Be sure to also check out these other national days this month:
More peanut butter days of the year
- November is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month
- Peanut Butter Day Lover’s Day is celebrated on January 24.
- Peanut Butter and Jelly day gets recognition on April 2.
- Peanut Butter Cookie Day is honored on June 12.
- Peanut Butter and Chocolate day is celebrated on July 23.
- We celebrate Peanut Butter Fudge Day on November 20.
And if that isn’t enough, peanut day is September 13 and peanut month is every March.
Pin this post for National Peanut Butter Day for later
Would you like a reminder of this post for National Peanut Butter Day? Just pin this image to one of your cooking boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
You can also watch our YouTube video to learn about more January food days.
Recipes for Peanut Butter Day
One of the best ways to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day is with your favorite peanut butter recipe. Try one of these on for size.
- Vegan and Dairy Free Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies.
- No Bake Peanut Butter balls with chocolate and coconut.
- Healthy peanut butter breakfast bars.
- Reese’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate layer bars.
- Fudge Brownies with a peanut butter frosting.
- Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe.
- No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate bars
- Make your own peanut butter in 5 minutes.
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge
- Peanut Butter Avocado Cookies
- Peanut Butter banana Belgian waffles with dark chocolate
- Healthy low carb peanut butter chocolate smoothie
And my favorite: Make some soft and chewy peanut butter cookies to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day.
Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Grab a glass of milk and dig into some of these soft and chewy peanut butter cookies. They are amazing!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room at temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cream together the peanut butter, butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, place balls of dough on to the baking sheet.
- Use a fork to press down the ball of dough to flatten, making a criss-cross pattern. (dip the fork in water between each cookie."
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Allow to cook on the baking sheet and then transfer to wire racks.
- Store in an airtight container for a few days. They also freeze well.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 178Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 3g
Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.