This peanut butter caramel corn practically jumped off the page at me as I was flipping through this month’s issue of Cooking Light. It sounded like the perfect salty-sweet snack, and though I’ve made caramel corn before (and apparently chose the same dish to photograph it!), I was intrigued by the addition of peanut butter here. I didn’t end up finding the peanut butter very noticeable in the popcorn, I just thought it added depth to the flavor and heightened the salty-sweet combo with the caramel. This is a really easy treat to put together though it does bake for an hour at a low temperature in the oven so you do need to plan ahead. I made a full batch so I’ll definitely be snacking on some come Sunday this week.
By Tracey
Peanut Butter Caramel Corn
from Cooking Light
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup light corn syrup
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels and cover. Cook, shaking the pan frequently, for about 4 minutes, or until the popping almost completely stops. Remove the pan from the heat and when the popping stops, remove the cover and add the almonds.
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the peanut butter and vanilla. Drizzle over the popcorn and use a rubber spatula to toss to coat.
Spread the popcorn on the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.
