Dig Into Sweet Recipes During Peanut Month

Slow Cooker Boiled Peanuts

Prep Time Cook Time Servings 5 mins 20 hrs 12

Ingredients

2 pounds raw green peanuts 1/2 cup salt 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 1/3 cup hot sauce 1/4 cup Creole seasoning 10 cups water

Instructions

Rinse peanuts in cool water and place them in the crock of a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 20 to 24 hours. Discard liquid and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Stacey’s Recipe Notes

I prefer raw green peanuts in this recipe, but raw dried peanuts work, too. When using raw dried peanuts, I recommend soaking them in cool water overnight before placing them in the slow cooker.

Most Creole seasonings have salt in them. If you use one that doesn’t, I suggest adding an additional 1/4 cup salt.

Welcome back to another delicious edition of Farmhouse Kitchen! This month, we’re shining the light on the 900-plus peanut farmers throughout our great state. With our country alone consuming about 700 million pounds of peanut butter annually, Alabama’s peanut farmers play a vital role in our lives. As a peanut butter lover, I was more than happy to offer up a couple of my favorite recipes, which are sure to please the peanut lover in all of us.

The kid in me will always love the combination of peanut butter and jelly. It’s a classic for good reason! While it’s great on sandwiches, my Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies are yet another way to indulge that childhood craving with the added benefit of being a perfectly acceptable take-along dish for parties and get-togethers.

Thinking beyond the PB&J, who doesn’t love driving around the state and stopping at roadside boiled peanut stands? Whenever someone comes in from out of state and asks about these stands, my car pulls over immediately. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve explained why they give you a plastic bag along with the big Styrofoam cup of peanuts. I often make my own boiled peanuts for game days and reunions. While boiled peanuts are nothing new in the South, folks are pleasantly surprised to find them simmering in my slow cooker.

I enjoy sharing a past recipe from a beloved Alabama Farmers Federation cook in each issue. This month, Lyn McDaniel’s Peanut Butter Cream Pound Cake is the perfect finishing touch. Lyn and her husband, Timmy, live in Dale County, and I’m sure her family agrees that whenever Lyn goes into the kitchen, the best place to be is at her table! This recipe was originally shared in the February 1992 Neighbors.

I hope you’ll find a couple of new family favorites among these recipes during National Peanut Month. We are so thankful for what farmers do to provide for our families. Their hard work helps bring families closer every day in our state and around the world.

Stacey Little is a foodie, recipe developer and cookbook author whose Southern Bite blog helps families put simple, down-to-earth food on the table while preserving Southern cooking for future generations. See more recipes at southernbite.com.

By Lyn McDaniel, Dale County Prep Time Cook Time Servings 20 mins 1 hr 15 mins 10

Cake Ingredients

1/2 cup butter-flavored solid shortening 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter 3 cups sugar 6 eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup peanut butter 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream shortening, butter, cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to the creamed mixture, blending well. Add vanilla, and mix well.

Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Place in a cold oven. Bake at 325 F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to rest in the pan about 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

Make the glaze by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Pour over warm cake.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies

Prep Time Cook Time Makes 15 mins 35 mins 12 to 16 blondies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Instructions

1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs, well beaten 3/4 cup peanut butter 3/4 cup jelly (I prefer grape or strawberry)

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a sturdy whisk to combine butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add vanilla, and mix well. Add eggs, and whisk together.

Add flour mixture to sugar and butter mixture, and stir with a spoon to combine. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Place the peanut butter and jelly in two separate bowls. Warm each in the microwave 10 to 20 seconds until smooth. Make sure it doesn’t become too liquidy. Stirring the jelly will help smooth it out.

Drop alternating tablespoons of peanut butter and jelly on top of the blondie batter to cover the top. Use a butter knife or skewer to swirl through the peanut butter and jelly.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is set. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.