Amish Church Peanut Butter Spread

By Kevin Williams

One thing a visitor to Holmes County, Ohio Amish-themed restaurants will notice right away is an unusual condiment on the table not found in many other areas.  In place of the typical bottles of signature red catsup and bright yellow mustard, you’ll usually see a squeeze bottle of apple butter and “Amish church peanut butter spread.”  The latter is an Amish concoction that has typically been associated with the meal after church services.  But touristy restaurants have latched onto it and serve it on site most places.  I jokingly call it “Amish vegemite” because like the dark spread from Down Under that Aussies enjoy in so many ways, the Amish enjoy their church peanut butter spread in equally similar versatility.  Some eat it as a sandwich, some spread it on crackers, toast, biscuits or combine it with jelly, etc. Everyone seems to have their own favorite way to enjoy it.  Mine is just the unimaginative spreading on bread.

I visited an Amish-themed restaurant yesterday and I almost was done with my bread when I realized I hadn't checked the condiment tray on the table. Ah, there it was, next to the apple butter was a squeeze bottle of Amish peanut butter spread. I didn't read the label for the ingredients but the recipe is usually the same in most Amish communities, it is:

one third peanut butter

one third corn syrup

one third marshmallow fluff

Stir until creamy in consistency and spread onto bread.

You can experiment with proportions, etc I usually just use one cup of each item stir and spread (well, I don't USUALLY make it because that would be a diet destroyer, but on the rare occasions I have made it, that is how)