Day 21: Peanut Butter Popcorn

The other day, I was craving peanut butter. This is not anything out of the ordinary for me. I love the peanut butter. Crunchier the better!

At the same time, (I can't always explain the track of the thought train that is my mind), I was thinking about how I really despise caramel popcorn! Like, can't even stand the smell of the stuff especially when it is cooked in a kettle, which is the only way according to my dad.

I had an epiphany! Why couldn't I make a creamy peanut butter sauce (similar to caramel, but NOTHING like it)?? I thought about it. A LOT! You could say it was all I could think about the moment the question popped into my head!

I know a couple of homemade caramel recipes so I dug those out. They didn't help.

I thought about what goes with peanut butter that could make it the right consistency.

I came up with corn syrup!

You can't tell it from the picture, but this stuff really is amazing! It had the exact consistency of caramel corn, but only AWESOME!

The worst part about this popcorn is it goes WAY too fast! Jay and I ate this pan in about 10 minutes and we were really hard pressed to not make more!

I'm thinking about adding roasted peanuts to the mix next time. Or making it into peanut butter popcorn balls!

So, so good!

Ingredients:

6-8 cups popped popcorn (I made mine the old fashioned way on the stove using peanut oil)
1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy, your choice)
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
*1 tsp vanilla (optional, I didn't use it)

Directions:

1. Pop the popcorn. (Microwave, or stove, or whatever your favorite method is.) Place in a large bowl.

2. In a medium saucepan on medium-low heat, mix the peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.

*If you're going to use the vanilla, put it into the peanut butter mix here.

3. Slowly pour the peanut butter mix over the popcorn in the bowl, mixing it as you pour. If you don't keep stirring, some of the popcorn gets mushy and other parts don't get covered.

4. Once thoroughly coated, spread the popcorn out on a baking sheet and let sit for at least five minutes to set. (This was the hardest step for me! Have I mentioned how much I love peanut butter?)

5. Enjoy!