Peanut Butter Caramel Corn
Crisp peanut butter coated popcorn drizzled with melted milk chocolate.
Servings 9
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 10 cups popped popcorn. air-popped works well
- ⅔ cup salted peanuts
- ½ cup unsalted butter 4 ounces, room temperature and cut up
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup light sugar packed
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Melted chocolate
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips OR peanut butter chips
- 1 ½ teaspoons coconut oil or shortening
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Grease a large roasting pan and spread the popcorn and peanuts in the pan
- In a saucepan (I used a 3 quart), combine the softened butter, both sugars, corn syrup and peanut butter. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously, until mixture begins to boil.
- Allow mixture boil steadily for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda.
- Pour over the popcorn and stir to coat.
- Bake the caramel corn for about 55 minutes, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.
- Allow the caramel corn to cool completely, then break it into chunks.
- Put the chocolate chips and shortening or coconut oil in a heavy duty freezer bag. Make sure it is a freezer bag and not a regular zipper bag. Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds. Massage bag to soften chips. Repeat until chips are melted and smooth. Snip off the bottom corner of the bag and squeeze melted chocolate over the caramel corn. Keep it in a cold part of the room until the chocolate sets.
Notes
One thing I've discovered about caramel corn is that it freezes well. It will stay fresh for a while in an air tight package at room temperature, but if you make a ton of it and don't have a lot of people to share it with right away, you can definitely keep it in the freezer.