Hundred-Year-Old Peanut Butter Bread Recipe

Want a cross between peanut butter cookies and homemade bread? If so, a hundred-year-old recipe for Peanut Butter Bread may be just the recipe for you.

Here is the original recipe:

Source: Ladies Home Journal (January, 1917)

And, here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Peanut Butter Bread

Servings: 1 loaf
Time: 50 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add peanut butter, milk, and eggs.; beat until well mixed. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. May be served warm or cold.

The hundred-year-old recipe called for 2 “rounded” teaspoons baking powder. I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder – and that worked well.

I used less salt than called in the original recipe. One teaspoon of salt seemed like a lot for a loaf of bread, so I reduced it to 1/2 teaspoon.

The old recipe says that this bread is best when it is a day old. In my opinion, the bread was good the day after I made it – though it also was good shortly after I took it out of the oven.

Hundred-year-old Peanut Butter Straws Recipe

Peanut butter is one of my favorite snack foods, so I was thrilled to find a hundred-year-old recipe for Peanut Butter Straws.

This irresistible snack contains peanut butter sandwiched between pieces of flaky pastry. The Peanut Butter Straws have the essence of peanut butter sandwich crackers – though the shape is different, and they are less crispy.

Here’s the original recipe:

When I updated the recipe for modern cooks, I changed the recipe name from Peanut Straws to Peanut Butter Straws because it more precisely describes this snack. Here’s the updated recipe:

Peanut Butter Straws

Servings: approximately 75 4-inch straws
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 cup flour

1/3 cup shortening

2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

1/3 cup peanut butter

water

milk

paprika

Preheat oven to 425° F. Put flour into bowl. Cut in shortening using two knives or a pastry blender. Add water and mix using a fork until dough starts to cling together. If needed, add additional water. (Or make pastry dough using a food processor). Roll into a 1/8-thick rectangle on lightly floured surface.

Spread peanut butter on one-half the rolled dough. Just “slap” the peanut butter on the dough. Do not worry if there are places here and there that have no peanut butter. The layers of the straws stick together better if there are places with no peanut butter.

Moisten the edges of the dough with water, then fold the other half of the pastry dough over on top of the dough that had been spread with the peanut butter. Roll lightly, and then prick here and there with a fork to prevent puffing up.

Cut into strips 1/2 inch wide by 4 inches long. Place on a greased cookie sheet, then brush with milk. Put into oven and bake until straws are light brown (about 10 minutes). Remove from oven and sprinkle with paprika.

Old-time Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes (Pancakes)

What’s a cross between peanut butter cookies and pancakes? . . . answer: Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes.

I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes, and decided to give it a try. The recipe was incredibly easy. I whipped the batter up in a couple minutes–and in a couple more minutes I had beautiful golden brown griddle cakes. They were light and fluffy, and a hit at my house. My husband said, as he polished off the last griddle cake, “You should make these again.”

Here’s the original recipe:

And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes (Pancakes)

Servings: 4-5
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

4 tablespoons peanut butter

2 cups milk

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl, beat until smooth. Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet to a medium temperature, then pour or scoop batter onto the hot surface to make individual griddle cakes. Cook until the top surface is hot and bubbly, and then flip and cook other side.