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I love popcorn. It’s just so delicious, and while I’ll never turn down a handful of plain old salted popcorn, I love to jazz it up a bit too. I tried making a recipe last week that included peanut butter, honey, sugar and vanilla, but it was way, way too sweet for my taste, but it got me thinking. In fact, I couldn’t get it out of my head and had to get in the kitchen to try my own version.

Instead of going the sweet route, because I feel like peanut butter naturally has a little sweetness, I decided to give it a little spice with some cayenne pepper. I love peanut sauce over noodles and even spicy peanut brittle, so I thought that same idea would work brilliantly over popcorn. And oh did it. It took me a few tries, but when I tasted this batch I knew I had a winner. It’s got a nice sweetness similar to caramel corn but then it hits you with a little punch just to keep things interesting. It’s a super tasty way to jazz up your popcorn.

Spicy Peanut Butter Popcorn

1/4 cup popcorn kernels
1 T vegetable oil
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1
Heat oil and drop 3 popcorn kernels in it. Once they pop, add the remaining popcorn and cover. When popping slows, remove from heat and empty into bowl, being careful not to add any unpopped kernels.
2
Meanwhile heat honey, cayenne and salt into a small saucepan over low heat. Heat for a few minutes until the honey gets more fluid.
3
Remove from heat and add peanut butter immediately. Stir until fully incorporated and pour over popcorn.
4
Gently fold the peanut butter mixture into the popcorn, making sure to coat it all.
5
Eat up!