Try these Three Winning Recipes from the Peanuts Go International Recipe Contest
Our Founder Kristen Baughman recently had the pleasure of judging the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association’s “Peanuts Go International” Recipe Contest, which is an annual contest held in conjunction with the North Carolina State Fair. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it! Try these top three recipes from the contest.
Mary Boury, mother and first place winner in the peanut competition returns to the NC State Fair to mark something off her bucket list – competing in the Special Cooking Contests at the NC State Fair. It pays off on opening day with a first place win for peanut and a third place win in House-Autry.
First Place: Mary Boury, Girard, PA
Peanut Butter Cup Greek Baklava
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. Phyllo dough, thawed as directed on package
Nut Mixture:
1 ½ cup finely chopped peanuts
¼ cup sugar
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. cinnamon
Syrup:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 cinnamon stick
⅓ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. peanut butter Mini peanut butter cups for garnish
Preheat oven 375 degrees. Grease and line a 10x10 cake pan with Parchment Paper. Combine first 4 ingredients-set aside. Unroll Phyllo dough, cut to fit pan-cover sheets with wax paper and a damp cloth. Place a sheet of Phyllo in pan, brush with melted butter, repeat until you have a stack of 5 sheets. Sprinkle with ⅓ of nut mixture. Repeat-butter each sheet of Phyllo, 2 more times. Top with 5 sheets brushed with butter. Cut through all layers in a diamond shape. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until brown. While baking prepare syrup. Place sugar, water and cinnamon stick in a small pan. Boil 15-20 minutes, remove from heat and add honey, vanilla and peanut butter. Pour syrup over the hot Baklava. Let cool then place mini peanut butter cups on each slice.
Second Place: Kinsley Goeman, Raleigh
Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Hungarian Kiffles
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 18-20 mins
Refrigeration Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yield: approximately 2 dozen cookies, serves 12-24
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup white chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together flour and softened butter using hands.
Add cream cheese and sugar and mix with a spoon until combined.
Cover bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out into a thin layer on parchment paper. Use a cookie cutter (3inch diameter) to cut dough into circles.
Working as quickly as possible, put 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of white chocolate chips into the middle of each dough circle.
Fold each circle of dough in half and pinch edges to seal in the filling.
Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.
Remove from oven and roll in powdered sugar while warm.
Let cool for 30 minutes before serving as filling will remain hot.
Third Place: Amanda Boury, Raleigh
Asian Pancakes with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Asian Pancakes:
1 cup each – Grated:
Carrots
Cabbage
Onion
Zucchini
½ cup chopped water chestnuts
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
4 eggs
¾ cup All-Purpose flour
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
Peanut Sauce:
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup Thai spicy pepper sauce
Mix all the vegetables together. In a small bowl mix eggs, flour and soy sauce. Add and toss with vegetables. In a frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Scoop ¼ cup of vegetable mix and fry around 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. For peanut sauce, mix the peanut butter into the pepper sauce. Heat slightly to mix. Serve with pancakes, serve warm.
Honorable Mention: Donna Barefoot, Benson
African Peanut Stew
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
1 jalapeno (cored and chopped) about 2 Tbsp.
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
2 tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 ½ cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomato with onion and green pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped into medium size pieces
2 pkgs. Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Basmati brown rice, cooked
Roasted peanuts for garnish
In a large pot over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onion, dash of salt and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, cumin and cayenne. Stir and cook 2 minutes. Next, add sweet potato, peanut butter, tomato paste, water, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes covered. Add chopped kale to the pot, stir and cook covered for an additional 15 minutes. Add rice to the pot and simmer 5 minutes before serving the roasted peanuts as a garnish.