Cooking Tuesday - Peanut Butter Popcorn

I cannot believe I haven't share our favorite snack.  Peanut butter popcorn!!!!! 

My family was introduced to this yummy goodness in the Philippines on the island of Mindanao.  My mom and dad were dorm parents at a Wycliffe school.  My parents were just back from furlough and my mom was embarking on an adventure of another of her "things I'll never do". 

Mom became fast friends with one of the women on the base, Mrs. Bailey.  I will forever be grateful to her for inviting our family, by ourselves, to their house for dinner.  I can't remember if it was a break from school, or if someone came over to the dorm to dorm-sit for an evening. 

That was when we learned of this wondrous thing called peanut butter popcorn.  Amazingly, it's super easy.  Nothing like caramel popcorn which never gets made in this house.  I like to think that it's a step above caramel popcorn anyway because of the peanut butter.

So I will let you in on the secret of how to make this easy snack.  First, of course you must pop the popcorn.  I detest microwavable because it leaves it's tallow on the roof of my mouth which reminds me that I'm taking in a bunch of fat!!  Yuck!  Besides popcorn popped the old-fashioned way is much cheaper. 

I couldn't get a good picture of this with a lid on it, but make sure you use the lid.  The other key to having as few "old maids" as possible is to shake, shake, shake!!!!  Once the popcorn is done, pour it into a large bowl.  I love my Tupperware That's-A-Bowls for this.

Then you shake, shake, shake, again!  To get all the old-maids to the bottom of your bowl.  Next, very carefully, scoop out the popcorn.  Pouring works for the top, but the old-maids end up in your popcorn.  Crunching an oldmaid with peanut butter popcorn is not good for the teeth.

Now that you have your popcorn popped and ready.

In a pan, pour 1 cup white sugar, and 1 cup corn syrup (I just use the maple syrup that I have on hand).  I always do this part wrong, as you can see in my picture.   Bring the sugar and syrup to a boil.  Boil for one minute.  Then remove from heat and add 1 cup of peanut butter.  It works the way I do it too, but it's better if you wait to put the peanut butter in. 

The key is especially if you put the peanut butter in, DON'T leave the kitchen.  In fact, stand over the pot stirring till it boils which is only about five minutes or so. 

Then pour the mixture over the popcorn.  And voila!  Yummy goodness!

We will be bagging some up in some snack bags so we don't eat it all by ourselves.  It works in a baggie, but you probably will be throwing said-baggie away because it won't be fun to wash out. 

If you do it right, it won't leave your fingers too sticky, just enough that licking takes care of it. 

Peanut butter popcorn

1 bowl of popcorn, set aside

In a pan mix 1 cup syrup and 1 cup of sugar. Stirring continually, bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add 1 cup of peanut butter. Pour over popcorn.  Enjoy!!!

I hope you enjoy this simple snack.

Making the most of today,
Steph