Just as I was reading CindyP's blog about cooking and freezing cookie dough (http://chickensintheroad.com/f…..reeze-one/) for holiday banking, this year's peanut crop made news:

From CNN: Get your peanut butter — before prices soar

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Brace yourselves, peanut butter lovers — prices are set to spike following one of the worst peanut harvest seasons growers have seen in years.

Prices for a ton of runner peanuts, commonly used to make peanut butter, hit nearly $1,200 this week, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture. That's nearly a 37% increase from last  year's $450 per ton.

It won't be long before consumers see this price increase reflected on store shelves.

• Kraft will raise prices for its Planters brand peanut butter by 40% starting Oct. 31.

• ConAgra expects increases of more than 20% for its Peter Pan brand.

•  Unilever, which makes Skippy, says it's watching the situation "very closely."

• Associated Press reports that J.M. Smucker's Jif wholesale prices are set to rise 30% in November.

The intense heat and drought that hit the southern U.S. this year are to blame. "It was just unmerciful, and we had a lot of problems setting the crop," said John Beasley, a professor of crop physiology and management at the University of Georgia. "I literally walked some fields that had zero yield."

Plan ahead, peanut butter cookies are one of Santa's favorites!