Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

Have you ever found yourself walking along at a carnival or a boardwalk and all of a sudden you're overtaken by the sweet smell of caramel corn! Next thing you know, you're irresistibly drawn to it and you succumb to the wonderful caramel intoxicant. Well in my humble opinion, caramel corn is even better when made in your own kitchen. This recipe, though, is more than just caramel—it has the added deliciousness of peanut butter thrown in! Imagine the mouth-watering fragrance coming from your kitchen.

I started this concoction by air-popping some pop corn. No worries if you don't have an air-popper because the recipe has you popping it on the stove-top anyway.

Next comes the sliced almonds—a nice flavor complement.

Combining the sugars and butter and bringing it to a boil.

Here's where it gets fun stirring in the peanut butter and vanilla.

Pouring the caramel/peanut butter mixture over and into the popcorn.

All tossed and mixed and ready for the oven. We're baking at a low temperature, stirring every 15 minutes for 1 hour.

The finished product is a dark caramel, crunchy treat.

This makes a pretty big batch. Of course it was gone by day's end, since the boys had some friends over for the night. They obliterated the whole thing in minutes! I guess it's safe to say they "liked" it. It's a great fall treat! Maybe I'll make it a tradition.

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

From Cooking Light

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 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-colored corn syrup
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 250°.

Line a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper; coat paper with cooking spray.

You can choose to air pop the popcorn or, heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add popcorn; cover and cook 4 minutes, shaking pan frequently. When popping slows, remove pan from heat. Let stand until popping stops. Uncover; add almonds.

Combine sugar, syrup, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and vanilla; stir until smooth. Drizzle over popcorn; toss well. Spread mixture out onto prepared pan. Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 20 servings; serving size about 3/4 cup