Embrace Your Inner Child with the Fluffernutter
By Carey Jones. Photo © Joy Zhang
As a culture, we accept peanut butter and jelly as a viable lunch. Peanut butter and honey, sure. Peanut butter and sticky jarred marshmallow fluff? … Hell, you only live once.
We’ve all heard of the Fluffernutter, but no state is quite so devoted as Massachusetts, where Marshmallow Fluff®—the kind in that cute, throwback jar—was invented almost a century ago. Somerville, in the Boston area, throws a What the Fluff? festival every September. And there’s a movement afoot to make the Fluffernutter the state sandwich. (Check out some of the improbable creations Boston-area chefs have dreamed up with the Fluff.)
But a sandwich this good has national appeal. When asked why he has it on his menu, Hunter Pond, owner of East Hampton Sandwich Co. in Dallas said, “I grew up eating the Fluffernutter; it reminds me of being a kid.” Whether driven by nostalgia or just a ranging sweet tooth, Fluffernutter fans come in all ages.
The bread: Only sandwich bread need apply, as white and squishy as possible. Come on, this is a throwback kids’ lunch; no artisanal spelt bread, please.
The filling: Though creamy peanut butter and silky Marshmallow Fluff mesh perfectly, use the crunchy stuff if you prefer, as long as you’re using at least as much Fluff as PB.
Where to get it:
East Hampton Sandwich Co.; Dallas. “We didn’t want to be boring and do a PB&J,” says Hunter Pond. East Hampton serves a classic Fluffernutter, and a version layered with crisp bacon—a genius idea if we’ve ever heard one. “I thought bacon would be a nice enticement for adults to order the Fluffernutter,” he says. “The cured bacon we use adds nice texture with its crispiness, and the salty goodness of pork plays perfectly with the sweet notes of the peanut butter and marshmallow.”
Peanut Butter & Co.; NYC. Of course this all-things-peanut-butter sandwich emporium has a Fluffernutter on its list. Take your pick of smooth or crunchy peanut butter, and if you want the crusts cut off, they’ll even humor that request.
Local 149; Boston. Let’s be honest: The Fluffernutter is more a dessert than a proper lunchtime sandwich. So Local 149 cranked up the indulgence factor with a deep-fried Fluffernutter on its dessert menu—with Nutella for dipping, to up the ante still further.
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