A couple of weeks ago I ventured to a couple of area farming communities down the road to attend the first ever 2-day event for The Texas Peanut Producers Board Tour in Lubbock, TX. Growing up I was aware of the cotton fields surrounding the city and occasionally spotting a vineyard, but never gave much thought about the other crops being grown. The night kicked off at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture which is located on the outskirts of town and filled with all kinds of farming exhibits, tractors and facts about the evolution of agriculture in this area. Our chicken fried steak dinner was prepared right out of a Chuck Wagon and was paired with Texas wine and beers. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a good home cooked meal with all of my favorite fixins. After dinner, we sat around the table to listen to some “cowboy poets.”
The next morning we headed out East of town to Brownfield, TX to meet with Monty and Kathy Henson. They’ve been farming together since 1997 and it’s even become a family business. They walked us through the process of growing peanuts from when they are planted to how you go about harvesting them once they are mature.
Did you know that peanuts are not nuts? They are actually a legume. You can see from the plant that they flower each planting season and that showcases where a peanut will go on the plant. It’s almost like tomatoes with the yellow flowers. After digging them up, you flip them over to allow for several days of drying time. Then they get hauled up and off to the peanut processing plant.
So guess where we headed next…
We took a little drive to Birdsong Peanut Factory. At Birdsong, the peanuts are cleaned, shelled, sized and then shipped off to the manufacturers that bought them to complete the end product. I’m a HUGE fan of M&M peanuts and a not so sharing size of Snickers. It’s fun to think about the fact I’ve had various candy bars that include peanuts grown right here on the South Plains of Texas.
That evening after a couple of hours of relaxing from the field tours, we headed to McPherson Cellars in downtown Lubbock. After a quick tour and a wine sampling, we got whisked away to a private dining area. The North Catering Company provided an unbelievable 7-course dining experience that included some form of peanut in every single dish. My personal favorite was a peanut cheddar roll served with duck fat butter.
The Texas Peanut Producers Board put on an amazing peanut tour in Lubbock, and I was so proud to be a part of it. I’m leaving you with this tasty Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins with Peanut Butter Icing.
Peanut Facts from the Texas Peanuts Producers
- Peanuts account for two-thirds of all snack nuts consumed in the U.S.
- One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
- Peanut butter is the leading use of peanuts in the U.S.
- It takes almost 850 peanuts to make an 18oz jar of peanut butter!
- Two peanut farmers have been elected President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
- Americans eat 3 pounds of peanut butter per person every year. That’s about 700 million pounds, or enough to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon!
- The average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches by the time he or she graduates from high school.
ENJOY ~ Meagan
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins with Peanut Butter Icing
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/4 cup low-fat cultured Buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels
- 2 tablespoons 2% milk
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the first six ingredients. In another bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl. Lightly stir until all dry ingredients are wet. DO NOT OVERMIX.
Fill baking cups 3/4 full and bake for 16 minutes or until lightly golden on the top.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes before topping with icing.
For the icing
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer beat until everything is well combined. Pour into an icing bag or baggie and then cut the tip. Create zig zags along the tops of the muffins.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the Texas Peanut Producers Board. All opinions are 100% my own and I appreciate your support of the brands/companies that I love.