For about 1 cup of peanut butter, shell enough peanuts to make 2 cups and blanch them for 1 minute; remove the skins. Creamy style peanut butter: Put half the nuts into the container of a blender, all of them into a food processor; grind for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, then process for another minute. Add 2 teaspoons butter or peanut oil and 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional). Process until smooth. Scrape the peanut butter into a jar.
Repeat the process with the rest of the peanuts in a blender. Crunchy style: In a food processor, grind 1/3 of the peanuts coarsely; set aside. Process the remaining nuts and other ingredients to a paste; mix the paste with the coarse peanuts. If you’re using a blender, process as for creamy peanut butter, but for less time. Fresh peanut butter keeps for about 1 week at room temperature, about 2 weeks refrigerated.