I recently got into a conversation with my coworkers about whether or not peanut butter is considered a food. It started when I declared it as one of my favorites, and someone said “peanut butter isn’t a food — it’s a condiment.” I guess I can see that being true, unless you’re one of those “I-eat-peanut-butter-straight-out-of-the-jar” types like I am. In which case, it’s clearly a food.
However you classify peanut butter, its sweet and saltiness makes it one of my favorite things. I still eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch on a regular basis, and chocolate peanut butter is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. I prefer my peanut butter of the natural variety (no added sugar, please) and the crunchier, the better.
I came up with this recipe one morning while trying to decide what to eat for breakfast. I love the way peanut butter melts on hot toast, so I decided to crank it up a bit by making it a sandwich and cooking it up french toast style. The ooey gooey peanut butter and honey center is seriously awesome with the egg, toasty crunch of the bread. The banana is also a nice touch, but I’ll be honest — I added it to make me feel less guilty about the whole thing. And guess what? It worked.
I think we’ve got another winner to add to my peanut butter recipe arsenal.
When it comes to peanut butter, are you chunky all the way or does smooth make you groove?
Melty Peanut Butter French Toast Sandwiches (makes 1 sandwich, but can be doubled, tripled, etc.)
What you need:
- 2 slices of whole grain bread
- 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Half a small banana, thinly sliced
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon half and half or milk
- A generous sprinkle of ground cinnamon
How you do it:
- Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
- Make a sandwich as you normally would, layering peanut butter, banana and honey between the slices of bread.
- Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix the egg, half and half and cinnamon. Dunk the sandwich in the egg, flipping over to saturate both pieces of the bread.
- Add the sandwich to the skillet and cook for approximately 2 minutes per side or until bread is browned, the egg mixture is cooked and the peanut butter is melty. If you really want to indulge, add some butter to the pan before cooking the sandwich.
- Serve sandwich with a side of maple syrup and topped with powdered sugar, if desired.
