This Amish Peanut Butter recipe, aka, Church Spread was pretty much a staple in our house when my kids were growing up. There are sooo many variations of this Amish Church Spread out there, but this is our favorite – tried and true.
As many or you may (or may not) know my dear hubby was born Amish and raised Mennonite. He is one of 9 children which is not surprising for an Amish family. They like to have lots of young’uns, ya know!
When he and I got married, I was blessed to become a part of this big ole’ family. I won’t lie…it was a little intimidating at first. :0 But that quickly changed, and before I knew it I felt very much a part of the family too. :)
This Amish Peanut Butter recipe is one that has been in the family forever, and is in our family cookbook. I have to be honest and admit something here though – I tweaked it. YEP, I did!
Let me just say to the family members who contributed the recipe to the cookbook…I like y’all’s recipe. Really, I do. It’s just that I like mine…um…better.
To make Amish Peanut Butter: You’ll start by making a simple syrup of brown sugar and water, then you’ll add corn syrup, peanut butter, marshmallow creme, and flavoring. I cut the marshmallow creme by half from the original recipe, and I add a couple more spoonfuls of peanut butter.
This cuts down on the sugar and allows the peanut butter to still be the star of the show. This also helps it to not be so sweet tasting. While it is supposed to be on the sweet side, it doesn’t have to be so extremely sweet.
One of our favorite ways to eat Amish Peanut Butter is to spread it on warm right-out-of-the-oven homemade bread. Oh, but it’s good on so many other things.
It’s also yummy on biscuits, pancakes, waffles, saltine or graham crackers, apples, bananas, celery, and ice cream. You can eat it on about anything you would eat regular peanut butter on. Give it a try, and come back to tell us what you like to eat it with.
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups peanut butter plus 2 heaping tablespoons
- 7 ounces marshmallow creme
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or maple flavoring I used maple this time, but use both regularly
Instructions
- In a saucepan combine sugar and water; bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Add flavoring and stir in the peanut butter, marshmallow creme and the corn syrup. Mix well and let cool. Delicious!
Joan says
Can you please tell me the yield of Church Spread recipe. I would like to make this for Christmas gifts this year. Thank you.
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Joan, I’m sorry I don’t have a precise answer on the yield, but I do know it fills several of the jelly or jam jars. I had mine in the 7.4 ounce Weck jars and it filled at least five of those. I hope this helps.
anita harbaugh says
Is there a shelf life?
How do you seal it ?
anita harbaugh says
I love this stuff, can you tell me if there is a shelf life, and how do you seal the jars?
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi Anita! Good question! I really don’t have an actual shelf life for this recipe. To be honest it never makes it that long around here. In looking at the shelf life of each individual ingredient – peanut butter, marshmallow creme, corn syrup, etc. – I see that they are fairly long, so I’m thinking it should be fine for a while. You could divide the batch between two jars and put one in the refrigerator while you use up the other. Once it’s taken out of the fridge, I wouldn’t think you’d need to keep putting it back after each use as it will get stiff when cold and not spread well. Halving the recipe is also an option.
As far as sealing – I have never heard of this being canned. Mine was in jars because I was giving them away as gifts. Giving some of it away works well for me – then it’s not all sitting on the counter begging me to eat it. ;)
Angela says
Thank you so much! This is a great recipe ?
I filled one quart jar and one small pizza sauce jar when I made it today…
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi Angela! I’m so glad you like the recipe. It does make a rather large batch, but it’s great to have on hand. :) Thanks for stopping by!
Vilda Ballantyne says
I made this and forgot the corn syrup. It was still AMAZING. I added a bit of cinnamon (as I do with everything). I made it for gifts but I don’t think I can part with it.
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi Vilda! Thanks for coming back and letting us know how much you love the recipe. I never thought of adding cinnamon. What a great idea! I’ll have to try that sometime.
Kristen Ohearn says
Oh My Gosh!! This was heavenly! Thanks for sharing.
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
You are so welcome, Kristen! I’m glad you love it. Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know! :)
Janice says
Hmm, you wanted to know what I like to eat this wonderful church spread with? A spoon! A SPOON! Thank you for this awesome taste of deliciousness!
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Haha, Janice! I think a spoon is perfectly acceptable to eat the church spread with! ;) I’m so glad you love it!
Meeya says
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I’m wondering what the best things to put this spread on are (other than bread). Any recommendations?
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi, Meeya!
Amish peanut butter is good with apples, spread on a banana, Ritz crackers, and Graham crackers. When my kids were little, they loved Amish peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Oh, I love it spread on toast with a banana sliced on top and drizzled with honey for breakfast. I know those last two bring it back to bread, but with variations. ;) I’m sure there’s more, I can’t think of them all right now. I’ll have to update this post and add suggestions for ways to use it.
Thanks for stopping by!
>>> Kim
Cindy Hoffman says
Hi Kim,
Thank you so much for posting the recipe. A few years ago, my daughter and I were visiting family in Philadelphia where I grew up. We took a drive to an Amish Community near Ronks, PA and ate lunch at a lovely restaurant. Before our meal, an Amish waitress brought us warm rolls with a peanut butter spread. It was amazing! Instead of just putting regular butter on the rolls we had the Amish peanut butter. It was so delicious and we purchased a container to take back with us to Georgia. They told us it was peanut butter and marshmallow (or maybe she said fluff). Unfortunately at the airport security took it from us. We were both so upset. I can’t wait to try this recipe myself . Thank you again.
Cindy Hoffman says
Hi Kim,
Thank you so much for posting the recipe. A few years ago, my daughter and I were visiting family in Philadelphia where I grew up. We took a drive to an Amish Community near Ronks, PA and ate lunch at a lovely restaurant. Before our meal, an Amish waitress brought us warm rolls with a peanut butter spread. It was amazing! Instead of just putting regular butter on the rolls we had the Amish peanut butter. It was so delicious and we purchased a container to take back with us to Georgia. They told us it was peanut butter and marshmallow (or maybe she said fluff). Unfortunately at the airport security took it from us. We were both so upset. I can’t wait to try this recipe myself . Thank you again.
Kim, the restaurant is Katie’s Kitchen in Ronks, PA. I can’t wait to go back again.
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi Cindy!
We are in Lancaster every so often and have been to Ronks. We didn’t go to Katie’s Kitchen though, so we’ll have to try it out the next time we’re there. Goodness, it’s so crazy that security had to take away your peanut butter. I’m sure this recipe will be similar to what you had. It’s from the Mennonite side of our family and is the real deal. I hope you’ll come back and let me know how you like it.
>>> Kim
Ellen Rudert says
I tried this recipe when I was in Pennsylvania at an Amish farm for a lunch, they had made this and it was on the table with homemade bread. It was absolutely delicious and I couldn’t get enough. So happy I have this recipe I make it for gifts…everyone loves it. Thank you
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi Ellen!
I’m so glad you like this recipe. It’s an everyday staple in many Amish or Mennonite Restaurants. And it’s super yummy on fresh-baked bread. I bet you get lots of smiles from your recipients when you pass this along as a gift. :)
Linda Keller says
This recipe is the absolute best I have eaten! I don’t normally eat a lot of jams, jellies, or spreads but I cannot stay out of this stuff. It is an excellent spread on toast or bread as its own but is an amazing dip for fruit for a quick snack as well. It will not last long in my house for sure. I plan to use this as a food gift to give as well (and plan to include the recipe so they can enjoy it in the future!) Thank you for sharing!
Kim at Serving Up Southern says
Hi Linda!
I’m so glad you love it. Yes, it’s delicious with fruit – I love it on apples. I’m sure your friends will love receiving Amish peanut butter as a gift. And adding the recipe is a great idea! Thanks so much for stopping by!