In his book,The Laws of Cooking, Justin Warner calls the peanut butter and jelly sandwich the first dish most Americans learn to cook. I’d go one step further and say it’s not just the first recipe learned—it's also the first you learn to improve.
(My own personal riff? Nutella, brie, and basil. Trust me, the basil works—it provides an herbal bite that prevents the sandwich from turning into dessert.)
A few days ago I put out an open call on Facebook for your guiltiest, filthiest, most outrageous peanut butter sandwich creations. Many of the responses stuck close to the classics, such as peanut butter with grilled strawberries. Some of them took it to 11 (see the Doritos example below). The through line with all of the suggestions? As long as you balance fatty with fruity, it's hard to go wrong.
This is as classic as the opening riff to “Jailhouse Rock.” I may not brag to friends about dipping into Elvis’s music, but I’ve openly admitted a love for PBBB (that’s peanut butter, bananas, and bacon) that I share with the King. It's buttery, salty, crispy, and a chunk of (hunka) burning love.
Technically, Facebook reader Cindra M.'s suggestion is more of a tartine than an actual sandwich, making this a bit of an outlier (not to mention a lot messier). But it's got the nut butter and it's got fruitiness and crunch, so I’m not going to split hairs—this sandwich is a star among its sisters. Take a plain PB&J down fancy pants lane, swap in whole grain bread, smear on somecitrus marmalade, and sprinkle some granola on top. If you're really fancy (and you are, otherwise you wouldn't be eating a PB&J tartine), you'lluse granola you made yourself.
In the early 1900s, peanut butter was a fixture in fancy tea houses on NYC’s Upper East Side. Places likeYe Olde English Coffee House吹捧花生酱的特产and pimento cream cheese. In other words, they had the right idea years before Facebook reader Paula N. put Doritos on her PB&J. Still, this idea is pretty, um, flavor-forward.
I have to admit an unpopular opinion here. Despite stomaching many “Fluffernutter Friday Mixers” in an attempt to meet other freshmen in the Honors program at my college, I don’t really like Fluffernutters. There's no crispiness or acidity, so it ends up resembling a mattress more than a sandwich. (Sorry, faculty.) But throw one under the broiler like Facebook reader Candy K. suggests, however, and the exterior crisps up and the interior turns into a gooey marshmallow tartine that I want to be besties with.
Can't imagine what some of these peanut butter sandwiches taste like? I can, because I tasted each one. Live. On Facebook.
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