Peanut Butter & Honey Popcorn

With autumn officially here I’ve been on the hunt for a new fall snack recipe. I’ve had the combination of peanut butter and honey on my brain for a while (a childhood favorite) so I knew I wanted to make something that included those delicious flavors. This recipe for Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn satisfied my craving instantly! I opted to omit the vanilla and add in some sriracha hot sauce instead for a sweet n’ spicy flavor.

Peanut Butter & Honey Popcorn
Adapted from The Kitchn
makes about 8 cups

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Fine salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (should be free of added sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or substitute 1 tbsp sriracha)

Have a clean paper shopping bag or oversized mixing bowl ready.

I used my Cuisinart Popcorn Maker to pop my popcorn, but if you don’t have one, you can use a standard bag of microwave popcorn OR here are instructions for stove-top popcorn:

Heat a 4-quart heavy pan over medium heat and film the bottom with vegetable oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the popcorn, shake to distribute, then put a lid on the pan, leaving a small crack for steam to escape. When the first kernel pops, put the lid on all the way. As the popcorn starts popping, shake vigorously to make sure the kernels are distributed evenly. When the popping slows to a few seconds between pops, take the pan off the heat.

Pour the popcorn into the paper bag or large bowl to cool. Lightly salt the popcorn to taste.

Mix the honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the peanut butter. Stir vigorously until all the peanut butter is melted, then mix in the vanilla (or 1-2 tablespoons of sriracha hot sauce).

Immediately pour the peanut butter and honey caramel over the popcorn and stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until it’s all coated. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

I planned to give my popcorn to friends as a thank you for letting me stay at their house on a visit up to Seattle, so I packaged my popcorn in some cute kraft colored take-out boxes. And just for fun, I decorated them by stamping some metallic gold polkadots on each box using a pencil eraser and finished each one with a custom label, hang tag and gold ribbon.

More fall recipes & homemade gift ideas…

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