Ever have those nights where you’re craving something sweet after dinner but have no desire to bake? Or do much more than shuffle to the kitchen? That happened to me recently. I had Cinnamon Toast Crunch and peanut butter on hand so I attempted to make a peanut buttery cereal bar situation. It never sat up (but we ate tons of it anyway). Instead I stumbled into an easy peanut butter sauce that’s perfect for brownie sundaes and pancakes.

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If you can boil water, you can make this sauce. Water and sugar, then cornstarch, then peanut butter go sequentially into a small saucepan. And you stir. With 4 basic ingredients (one of which is water!) you likely have everything on hand too.

Peanut Butter Sauce

Course Dessert, Sauce

Cuisine American, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Peanut Butter

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 32 tablespoons

Ingredients

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup peanut butter

Instructions

Add water and sugar to small saucepan on medium heat. Stir until sugar fully dissolves and mixture begins to boil.
Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of water (about a tablespoon). Add to saucepan. Stir while mixture boils for a minute or two. Sauce should start to appear viscous and may be cloudy.
Add peanut butter to saucepan. Stir while peanut butter begins to melt and combine. Once mixture begins to boil, it thickens quickly. Remove from heat.
Stir in airtight container (like a mason jar) for up to a week on the counter.

Storage

This peanut butter sauce recipe makes about 2 cups – which fits perfectly in a 16 oz mason jar. I stored mine on the counter, and it didn’t last long. We ate it all. Storing in the fridge will increase it’s shelf life, but will make it much more viscous. Popping a small serving in the microwave will thin the sauce back out. Watch it carefully though. Once it starts to heat up, it heats up quick.

These mason jar lids are a game changer for food storage. They never rust, are one piece, and dishwasher safe.

OTHER PEANUT BUTTER RECIPES: Peanut Butter Granola | Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Sauce Ideas

Name: Peanut Butter Sauce
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3/4 cup water; 3/4 cup sugar; 1/2 tsp cornstarch; 3/4 cup peanut butter

This sauce was made for vanilla ice cream and brownies. Actually that’s not true. I made it for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. (Pour some sauce over cereal. Spread it on a sheet pan and pop in the freezer for a few. It really is addicting!) Pancakes, granola, cheesecake, french toast, and cupcakes are all good options for this sauce too. Peanut butter + chocolate is a ALWAYS a winning flavor combo IMO.