I love peanut butter and to be without it, even when traveling and away from home, just isn’t something I prefer.
While in Aruba, I got a little adventurous and tried some of the peanut butter sold in the local Aruban grocery stores. Key word is adventurous since I can’t read Dutch and many products are imported from Holland because Aruba is a Dutch island.
Let’s compare and review:
1. Speculaaspasta
Technically, this isn’t peanut butter. It’s the Dutch equivalent of Cookie Butter Spread or Biscoff Spread
As I explained here, it’s identical to Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter Spread and it’s highly delicious and addictive. Imagine gingersnaps crushed, blended, and turned into a thick, rich, cinnamony-gingery paste
Don’t leave me alone with a jar of it or cookie butter. They’re the same or with Biscoff, which is nearly the same.
I used the Dutch Speculaaspasta spread when I made these Chocolate Banana and Biscoff Graham Bars
2. Jumbo Pindakaas
I bought this because of the word Naturel on the label and thought I was going to get something close to my Homemade Peanut Butter or your garden variety natural peanut butter.
Instead, I got a really peppery peanut butter that was fairly thick. I didn’t like the flavor but Skylar loved it. A five year old who loved peppery peanut butter.
I think Jumbo Pindakaas would be great used in Two Minute- Peanut Sauce for Fresh Spring Rolls (raw, vegan, GF)
Or as the base of a salad dressing or in the marinade for Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu (vegan, GF) because I think the peppery flavor would complement savory foods.
3. Quino Pindakaas
I also bought this in the hopes that it would be like my beloved homemade peanut butter because it looked fairly ‘natural’ in the glass jar. There were tiny peanut flecks I could see when peering through the glass, and I had high hopes for it but unfortunately, it was really salty.
I prefer sweeter peanut butter, or honey-roasted, and this was a bit too salty for my day-to-day eating.
However, it was perfect in Combos Pretzel and Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Bars (no-bake)
I actually kind of made these bars because of this peanut butter. And because I couldn’t walk past a bag of Combos and not buy them.
4. Planters Creamy Peanut Butter
I wanted Jif Creamy Peanut Butter but the only size available was approaching a half-gallon and even I didn’t need that much peanut butter so Planters was fine. Run of the mill American processed peanut butter for sale in Aruba is like having a comforting blanket and reminds me of home.
I like to bake with creamy, non-natural peanut butter like Jif or Planters and have a few tricks and recipes similar to this one up my sleeve that I used Planters for.
5. Peter Pan Honey Roast Creamy
Since I was striking out with Dutch-labeled peanut butter that I thought would be natural-tasting and wasn’t getting what I wanted and can’t make my own because I don’t have a food processor here…
…I knew this would handle my midnight cravings. And it did.
Keep me away from a spoon and this jar, especially at night. Sweet, creamy, and everything I want when I’m having honey-roasted peanut butter cravings and can’t make it.
What’s your favorite peanut butter?
What’s your favorite nut butter or spread?
My favorite peanut butter for eating off the spoon is my homemade honey-roasted peanut butter which takes less than 10 minutes and is the stuff my dreams are made of and I don’t care if it’s 3am when I get back to San Diego from Aruba, I will probably turn on my food processor and make a batch. I know I have some unopened TJ’s honey roasted peanuts in my cupboard.
My favorite peanut butter for baking is Jif Creamy because it just whips into perfection, doesn’t spread or run, isn’t too thin, and sometimes ‘processed’ is good when planning to bake with it.
When I don’t want my peanut butter cookies (GF) to spread
Or marshmallow peanut butter bars (GF) to turn into a soupy mess, Jif it is. Plus, Jif is the peanut butter I grew up with and a nostalgic favorite.
In terms of non-peanut butter nut butters, I don’t really like almond butter. I know it’s popular, but it tends to be too thin, too runny, and too bland for my tastes.
I prefer Sunflower Seed Butter (I buy Trader Joe’s) or try the SunButter brand is widely available at many grocery stores or at Whole Foods. Sunflower seed butter is sweet, smooth, and has a very distinct taste that I love. It’s on the thinner side but the flavor more than makes up for the runnier consistency. This is another nut butter that I need to stay away from after the clock strikes midnight, which seems to be when I do my best spoon and jar maneuvers.
I love Nutella and will spread it on anything and make Nutella & Peanut Butter Graham Bars with Chocolate Frosting (No Bake)with it.
Who can resist the stuff?
I like making my own Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter (vegan, GF). It’s what I’d imagine Nutella made from cashews rather than hazelnuts, and with coconut added, would probably taste like.
I have all my Peanut Butter Recipes compiled here
And I have a Peanut Butter Pinterest Board
Tell me about your favorite nut butters, peanut butters, and spreads.
I have TONS of peanuts on hand. I need to make homemade nut butter. I like the idea of buying products you’re not 100% sure of (due to a language barrier) and just giving them a go! I think its fantastic that your daughter has such diverse taste. Nom nom
Start them young and just hope for the best – expose them to it all and some of it will stick is our approach :)
What is it about the nighttime that makes the spoon gravitate towards that jar? I don’t eat it all day long and then the sun goes down and BAM, spoon in jar, repeat. It’s uncanny.
I grew up on Jif too and its the best for baking, and I’ll eat it straight if that’s all I have but I prefer the natural kinds to eat plain.
The sunflower seed butter I made isn’t nearly as thin as TJs or SunButter. I didn’t add any oil or salt to mine though. The seeds were roasted and salted, but nothing additional. I did put in a pinch of stevia because I’ve found that sunflower seed butters can be a little bitter without just a hint of sweetness. That should be first on your nut butter list for when you get home!
I agree I don’t really care for almond butter! I love peanut butter and nutella too much! I really want to try that cookie butter. Although probably a good thing for my clothing size that I haven’t! :)
I’m not sure if I’ve ever had honey roasted peanut butter? I love honey roasted peanuts, so if it’s like that, then OMG. I like smooth PBs. We only had chunky growing up so I never liked PB much! Probably a good thing, haha.
Jenn it will change your life if you’ve never had it???!! That would be crazy but okay, you need to either make some or buy some b/c you’ll be in heaven!
Very interesting comparison here, fun looking at the varieties in Aruba. Sounds liek Skylar’s tastes are maturing early. :-) And just wow on the recipe inspiration here, getting hungry! My fave is probably cashew or sunflower seed butter currently.
I love SFSButter (or homemade cashew!)
Such a great post. I love cookie butter but can’t justify the calaries so I try to stick to homemade Sunflower Seed butter. I’ve added in cocao powder to thicken it and some Stevia. It’s not as good as cookie butter but like you say, it will work at 3 am, or 3 pm…. Last week I made these Nut bars with tons of nuts and chocolate held together with peanut butter. I took them on a weekend trip and when I got home, I warmed the bars slightly, threw everything in the blender and came up with Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. https://wp.me/p26wpj-PH Much better than the bars and even my husband will eat it! Thanks for the comparisons, I usually buy my grocery store brand of peanut butter but want to try your recipe soon. Not a fan of almond butter either. Have a safe trip home!
Love the choc PB pie…mmmm, good! And also homemade Sunflower Seed butter — YUM!
I picked up a jar of Cherry Vanilla Peanut Butter last time I was in Portales, NM. They have lots of flavors. I haven’t tried the cherry vanilla yet, but I will be soon! I also made my first Trader Joe’s cookie butter purchase the other day! Can’t wait to try it too!
https://www.sunlandinc.com/zcom/product/Category.do?compid=788&catid=2080
I’ve seen that Sunland flavor before but haven’t tried it!
Whole Food’s brand salted peanut butter is absolutely my favorite peanut butter ever. A jar lasts less than a week in my hands – not even close to exaggerating.
I found an old (from 1975!) peanut butter machine in my attic recently that used to be my grandmother’s and I’m having lots of fun trying out new types of nut butter with it. So far I’ve made peanut butter, almond butter and sunflower seed butter and they’ve all turned out delicious. The machine is great because you don’t have to scrap down the sides like you do in a food processor, just pour the nuts in the hopper, flip the switch and boom, nut butter.
if you love the WFs salted PB I bet you’d have loved one of the ones in this post that’s salty.
An old fashioned PB machine?! Never even knew they existed – WOW!! I dont have to stop and scrape down the sides of my food proc but it’s a pretty fancy schmancy one – but now I want one of these machines :) HOW FUN!
Well, in our family, Seraphim and I both have a sensitivity to peanut butter, although we both absolutely LOVE it. :-( Simeon prefers Nutella and will eat it by the spoonful or wants sandwiches in his school lunch with nutella only and will ask for 2 and polish them off. Isaac preferes maple or vanilla flavored almond butter. I don’t mind cashew butter, but it just isn’t as sweet tasting as peanut butter to me, although I absolutely love cashews. They are my favorite nut! Almond butter, not so much. It’s too grainy for me. When I make your maple nut oaties, I sub in sunflower butter. We are all over the place! :-)
Oh…and saw your delicious chocolate cake on Foodgawker!! Woot! :-)
I didnt know that about your sensitivity – wow, that’s too bad! Glad to hear you have LOTS of different options going though …and thanks for noticing my cake on FG :)
I’m with you on jif creamy! No crunchy for me…
In baking, very rarely, like 1x a year, maybe, do I actually want a crunch in my baked goods so the smooth ‘n creamy just works better for melting, sauces, etc.
Oh man, I was just going off on the blog a few days ago about how I can’t keep cookie butter around. I’ll eat half the jar with a spoon on day 1.
I’m that way with honey roasted PB. Cookie butter, I love it, yes, but lately it’s been back to old fashioned H.R.P.B. for me!
What a fun thing to do on your trip. Test all sorts of peanut butter…I could think of worse things for sure :) We did notice when we were in New Zealand that they varied a lot!
It wasn’t even on purpose – I just kept buying things I DIDN’T like so kept trying things til I found what I wanted!
i think i would like yours! but really, i like the new zealand/ Australian kraft crunch peanut butter the best. Its kinda of thick and crusty, weird, eh? but good!
companies like kraft, nestle, etc I’ve noticed have North American products and then rest of the world products, from their asian and latin markets to their down under markets…thick n crusty could be perfect in the right application!
I love this! I’ve always wanted to do a peanut butter comparison, only with natural peanut butters (because I can’t eat the sugary kinds). My favorite is Whole Food’s crunchy brand. It is soooo tasty. Smucker’s natural is good, but too salty. Also, freshly-pressed peanut butter is always amazing!
I know what you mean about too salty – salt just masks the natural peanut essence!
Love this post! I really don’t care for jarred peanut butter, it’s just not he same as homemade. I used jar stuff for baking and homemade for spooning and putting on things like toast, yogurt and ice cream. I too use the Trader Joe’s honey roasted nuts to my my PB, but I like to throw in some crushed pretzels for fun! Dam that stuff is addicting and now you got me craving it! Time to make some PB!!
Oh and when I was in Europe this summer, thats when I discovered Nutella! Bad, bad, bad!!!! I love the stuff and I love your post today!!
you JUST discovered Nutella? Well at least you didn’t know what you were missing all those years :)
and pretzels in your own homemade PB sounds delish!
Well, no peanut butter for me, but I love sunflower butter, then cashew butter, then hazelnut butter… And any of those I can scoop out the whole jar in a day, especially if it’s not sweetened. :)
I made something today, come see it, please, I hope you like it! :)