Amish Peanut Butter
Ever since I was little, I have loved peanut butter. I remember being served peanut butter and honey sandwiches as a side with chili when I was in grade school. Now that I'm a Shipshe resident, it's Amish Peanut Butter, commonly called “Church Spread,” that is much more of a staple around these parts.
So what is Amish peanut butter, and how do you make it?
A Versatile Spread
Amish Peanut Butter is a decadent spread that is delicious on freshly baked bread, pancakes, crackers, pretzels, ice cream, apples or any other dippable snack or fruit. It's most commonly made from mixing together creamy peanut butter, marshmallow cream and Karo syrup.
When you visit Shipshewana, you'll find jars of Amish Peanut butter in several stores and at the tables in restaurants including E & S Sales, Yoder’s Meat and Cheese, Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery or any number of other delicious local bakeries and specialty shops in Shipshewana!
It's one of those staples that tends to be popular in Amish country, much like fried chicken or Amish haystacks!
Amish Church Meals
Amish Peanut Butter got the name "Church Spread" because it is frequently used for Amish church meals.
In the Amish Church, depending on which district you are in, your family may be responsible for hosting church 1-2 times each year. Amish Church takes place every other week at a different family’s home and the family hosting for the week typically feeds around 200 people.
A typical Sunday Church meal may consist of Amish Peanut Butter, home-baked bread, freshly canned pickles, beets and from time-to-time shaved ham and cheese.
There are lots of recipes for Amish Peanut Butter, but I personally love this easy go-to version. And so does my daughter!
Amish Peanut Butter Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ to ¾ cups creamy peanut butter (you can use chunky if you prefer)
- 1-7 oz. jar of marshmallow crème or fluff
- 1 ½ cups light corn syrup
Directions:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
- Enjoy!
Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
If you like experimenting, try replacing the light corn syrup with maple syrup! Or, replace the light corn syrup by making a simple syrup of butter, brown sugar and water, and stirring it in with the other ingredients until well mixed. Let it come to room temperature before serving or slightly soften in the microwave.
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