National Peanut Butter Month

By Nicole Fisher

Ah, peanut butter, the snack of childhood. Growing up, I personally slathered PB on pieces of bread and topped it with slices of bananas. But as I have grown older, my love for peanut butter has grown like the glob stuck to the roof of my mouth. Fortunately, March celebrates the spread's natural goodness and because of this, I want to share a couple recipes with this protein-packed diet stable. For those of you that are allergic, sorry I am not sorry. More peanut butter for me.

Apple Smiles

Ingredients

Smooth Peanut butter

1 Red Apple, cored and sliced into eighths

Miniature Marshmallows

Directions

- Spread peanut butter on one side of each apple slice

- Place four miniature marshmallows on one apple slice and lay another apple slice, peanut butter side down, on top.

Trick: Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on the apples if you want to serve and eat them later. It will keep them from turning brown.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Martini

Ingredients

2½ ounces Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cup Infused Vodka, recipe below

4 ounces milk

1 teaspoon Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

4 mini peanut butter Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, for garnish

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Infused Vodka

6 ounces good quality vodka (I used Tito’s)

¼ cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions

- To prepare the infused vodka, combine vodka and Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups in a clean mason jar. Close jar tightly and store in a cool dry place for 7 days. Give it a good shake once or twice per day.

- Once vodka has been infused, strain into a clean mason jar using a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth. Store in a cool place or in the freezer.

- To prepare the martini, combine infused vodka, Hershey’s chocolate syrup and milk in a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake for 30-40 seconds and pour into two small martini glasses.

- Garnish with Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups