Hi!
Today on the show I shared how today is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. I also mentioned how you have one more day to register your dad for our Take Dad to Dinner contest. You only have until 11:59 pm on Thursday to register your dad.
Here is the link to our Take Dad to Dinner page on our website: Click HERE
Here is what I shared on the show about National Peanut Butter Cookie Day:
HISTORY OF NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DAY
We don’t know for sure when peanuts were first harvested, but evidence dating back 3,500 years ago indicates that ancient Incans of Peru used peanuts as sacrificial offerings. The peanut likely originated somewhere around modern-day Peru or Brazil, potentially growing as far north as Mexico, and was spread by European explorers. These Europeans likely brought peanuts to Africa and Asia, and it was eventually Africans who brought peanuts to North America in the 1700s.
In America, and particularly the South, peanut production took off. It was around the 1800s that peanuts became a commercial crop in the U.S., and demand for the product was high. Not only were they a great food, but they could also be used as oil or as a cocoa substitute. They were, however, challenging to raise and harvest, and mostly were only consumed by farm animals or those in poverty. That is until Union soldiers decided they liked them and found they were high in protein.
The early 1900s saw the destruction of cotton crops at the hands of the boll weevil, which threatened the livelihood of many farmers. Dr. George Washington Carver, a well-known scientist at the time, suggested many plantations switch to planting peanuts, which caused peanuts to be almost as popular of a crop as cotton in the South.
Determining who invented peanut butter, however, is a different beast. There’s evidence that the ancient Incas ground peanuts to make a primitive sort of peanut butter, though Dr. John Harvey Kellog is credited with creating the first peanut butter in the United States in 1895. There’s also some credit given for the invention of peanut butter to a physician from Saint Louis, who needed a way for his patients who were too old or sick to chew meat to get protein. After peanut butter’s introduction at the World’s Fair in 1904, however, it took off.
Dr. George Washington Carver included a recipe for peanut butter in his 1916 book on growing peanuts and preparing them to be eaten, and in 1922 Joseph Rosefield improved on the recipe by developing a way to prevent peanut oil from separating from the solids. Peanut butter had hit stores in 1920, and already peanut butter cookies were being homemade across America. In 1932, the first recipe for peanut butter cookies that featured the decoration with forks on top was printed in “The Schenectady Gazette,” and the peanut butter cookie had become the classic treat we know today.
WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DAY
- They’re delicious
It’s obvious, but bears repeating. Peanut butter cookies hit the perfect note of sweet and salty, nutty, and creamy. We couldn’t ask for more in a cookie, and we won’t. We’re headed into the kitchen to bake some right now because this description just made us hungry.
- Peanut butter is nutritious
We’re here to break the good news: peanut butter is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and premature death. It sounds to us like peanut butter cookies may just help you live a little longer! However, you do want to make sure that your peanut butter isn’t heavily processed or full of trans fats if you want to reap the benefits.
- They’re a reminder of childhood
Once childhood is over, work and school take up a significant amount of time — how many of us have the extra time to bake cookies from scratch? We promise, three-ingredient peanut butter cookies are super easy and reminiscent of mom’s fresh-out-of-the-oven batch from childhood. You can even recruit your kids to help you!
- I was born on June 12th, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts.
- At the age of 18, I enlisted into the United States Navy as a naval aviator. I was one of the youngest pilots in the Navy.
- My aircraft was downed by enemy fire, but I was able to escape and I ended up being rescued by a submarine named the USS Finback.
- I attended Yale College after returning from the war.
- I was the 41st President of the United States and only served one term.
- I died on November 30th, 2018, at the age of 94.
…..I am George H.W. Bush
Congratulations to Brian of Fredericktown for guessing the correct answer! He wins a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant.
Thanks for listening!
-Dylan
Driving Notes 