Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

This is addictive.

To quantify how addictive it is, I made 5 batches in less than a week. My 89-year-old grandfather ate his entire quart bag himself without sharing with anyone. My father stole the remainder of the gallon bag at the end of his visit. Once you start eating it, you cannot stop until the bag is empty or you have stuffed yourself silly (or I suppose you possess far more self control than anyone in my family).

For those peanut butter fans, you don't taste an overwhelming peanut butter flavor in the final treat. However, it provides a subtle enhancement to typical caramel corn.

This is a Cooking Light recipe that I have modified slightly. However, it is only remotely good for you when you treat a serving size as 3/4 cup, which means 20 servings per batch. Good luck with that.

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup popcorn
1/2 cup unsliced almonds (I also used macadamia nuts for a batch)
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup light-colored corn syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla (I also used maple extract for a batch)

Preheat oven to 250ºF. Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

Pop popcorn using 2 Tbsp. oil. Add nuts to popped popcorn. Meanwhile, combine sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Pour syrup mixture over popcorn, and stir to evenly coat popcorn. Spread evenly onto jelly roll pan. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely before breaking apart and devouring.

Note: I am out of corn syrup, so I'm going to use that to prevent me from making more of this in the immediate future.