Sunday, October 17, 2010

Bouchon Bakery's "Nutter Butters"

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love"
 

First Comes the Peanut

The peanut was first known to exist in South America, as far back as 950 B.C., most likely in Brazil. The Incas were known to have made peanuts into a paste during this time, as well as to have peanut crops. Peanuts were actually said to have been found in the tombs of mummies in Peru!

Peanut Migration


The peanut had to get to the United States somehow from Peru. So how did this happen? It is believed that the peanut made it to Africa from Peru by early explorers of South America. Then, the peanut was traded to Spain, and from Spain to the American colonies.
Once in America, peanuts were grown commercially in North Carolina as early as 1818 and in Virginia as early as the 1840's. In the 1890's, George Washington Carver, 

George Washington Carver who worked at the Alabama Tuskegee Institute, started to use the peanut as a replacement crop for the whipped out cotton crops destroyed by weevils.


Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented a "Process of Preparing Nut Meal" in 1895 and used peanuts. Kellogg served the patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium peanut butter. Joseph Lambert worked for Dr. Kellogg and began selling his own hand-operated peanut butter grinder in 1896. Almeeta Lambert published the first nut cookbook, "The Complete Guide to Nut Cookery" in 1899.
By 1914, many companies were making peanut butter.
Joseph L. Rosenfield invented a churning process that made smooth peanut butter smooth. In 1928, Rosenfield licensed his invention to the Pond Company, the makers of Peter Pan peanut butter. In 1932, Rosenfield began making his own brand of peanut butter called Skippy which included a crunchy style peanut butter.


 A Horse is a Horse, of Course, of Course
mr. ed

It is widely believed that Bamboo Harvester, the famous horse who played Mr. Ed on the classic 60′s sitcom of the same name, was prompted to move his lips for the “talking scenes” by the crew applying peanut butter to his gums. This in itself may be news to you, but get ready for a double whammy–it was revealed in a 2004 interview that this is a story cooked up by the show’s other star (this one human), Alan Young. Myth busted

   Georgia is the #1 peanut producing state, but did you know that Texas is #2.


Nutter Butters are a Nabisco brand peanut-shaped sandwich cookie with a peanut butter filling, available at grocery stores throughout the United States.




The product is an official cookie of NASCAR. ...http://www.nascar.com/

  ( I did not know this -__-) !! . I am really not a fan, and I do live in the South. I could be asked to leave at any time ^^However, I do have respect for the drivers. NASCAR is the biggest sport in the USA.





Bouchon Bakery's "Nutter Butters"


2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter ( Skippy) per the recipe, but I am a JIFF fan!
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
2.5 cups quick-cooking oats

For the filling:
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1- 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar




 scooped

Baked


 Filled

 Eaten





 I really wish they looked like this>>>

The dough when mixed is very soft. I do not think it lends itself to shaping, only scooping. I think I under baked mine, and they had a soft chewy texture vs. the crisper one of the real thing. Of course, this could be due to the fact mine are also fresher. They taste (almost) similar to the real thing . Maybe next time I will bake them longer for an extra snap to the cookie.

MUNCH MUNCH!!

4 comments:

  1. You know, I was thinking of these cookies yesterday (going to Napa tomorrow to Bouchon, in fact!). Nutter butters were my favorite as a kid, and Keller's Nutter Butters are fabulous!

    Interesting point you make about the texture, by the way. The first I had in Napa was soft and chewy, the one in New York more crisp (a little too hard, in fact.) Guess it just depends on who's pulling the sheetpan out of the oven.

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  2. Thanks Connie! I am jealous of your trip! Stay safe! and hurry back to bake something :)

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  3. Love nutter butters so think I would like these. I have a thing about frosted cookies so they would fit right in. Love the story about Mr. Ed, one of my favorite shows as a kid.

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  4. Hhhhhmmm yum! I think the home made cookie look is much better then the peanut shaped processed look any day!

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