It's Time To Start Mixing Cocoa Powder Into Your Peanut Butter

A versatile, must-have pantry staple, peanut butter is a decadent spread with many culinary applications. Delicious as raw peanut butter is, combining it with cocoa powder is an easy way to zhuzh it up with a touch of chocolatey goodness.

Cocoa powder is a byproduct of cocoa butter processing. Cocoa beans are fermented, dried, roasted, and cracked to extract nibs, which are ground into cocoa mass — a thick paste of cocoa solids and fat. The mass is pressed to remove the cocoa butter, and the remaining solids are ground into powder. Cocoa powder flaunts a concentrated chocolate flavor that's bitter and strong. 

When mixed with peanut butter, the powder gives the rich, caramelized taste of the nutty spread a new dimension of flavor that's chocolatey but never cloying, keeping its central flavors intact. Plus, cocoa powder marries well with many peanut butter-centric recipes, which means you'll never find yourself limited to a single use.

Cocoa powder comes in three primary shades of flavor – natural, Dutch-processed, and black. Natural cocoa powder is the most bitter of the three, perfect for those who like a little bite in their sweet streets. Dutch-processed cocoa powder, on the other hand, flaunts a mild bitterness and a familiar chocolate flavor. Finally, black cocoa powder has a deep, rich taste that's bold but not necessarily brash. Select your favorite cocoa powder, grab a jar of peanut butter from your favorite brand, and combine the two to transform your favorite sweet tooth recipes.

A spoonful of peanut butter threaded with swirls of cocoa powder is as delicious as it is satisfying. However, this combination belongs in many different dishes.

You've heard of breakfast for dinner, but have you heard of dessert for breakfast? Prepare a stack of classic buttermilk pancakes lathered up in peanut butter dusted with cocoa powder and smothered in maple syrup for a warming, chocolatey, and nutty breakfast that you won't soon forget. Bonus points for infusing the pancakes with bittersweet chocolate chips to match the spirit of the cocoa powder. For lunch, jazz up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich by sprinkling cocoa powder into the creamy, jammy spread to make this classic twosome a flavor-forward ménage à trois. In it, tart jelly mingles with the bitter powder and the lush, sticky peanut butter holds it all together.

And don't limit yourself. Use cocoa powder-infused peanut butter for a decadent brownie topping, mix it into berry and banana smoothies, or give peanut butter cookies a touch of nuanced, chocolatey depth. Once you enjoy your cocoa-kissed peanut butter treat, try sipping on a cocoa powder-infused coffee to wash it down.