Peanut Butter Cinnamon Popcorn … err, sort of
You might recall a Divvies giveaway on this blog back in December, where I promised a popcorn post to come. Well, I am a little slow, and it isn’t quite popcorn, at least not the version I made, but the recipe easily converts for popcorn fanatics.
You see, as a frugal foodie, I waste as little as possible. And when the Lundberg Eco-Farmed Rice Cakes (I like those plain old unsalted ones) went on clearance for just $.50 a package, I bought two cases. That’s right, I wiped the store out of their leftover stock. But with my affection for rice cakes, comes the continuous trail of rice cake crumbs. It never fails that a few of those crispy wafers crumble, some just around the edges and some into oblivion. So rather than snacking on those plain old crumbs, I save them up for just such an occasion!
The rice cake crumbs have the same texture as popcorn, so I find that this simple and frugal recipe is dual purpose for whichever medium you have on hand. Of course, if you opt to upgrade the corn syrup to maple syrup (isn’t it rivaling the price of gold right now?) then the recipe won’t be quite so frugal, but the choice is up to you.
Either way, this stuff is perfectly sweet and made for snackin …
Peanut Butter Cinnamon Popcorn (or Rice Cake Crumbles)
Yields 8 Servings
- 1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup (best for frugality) or Maple Syrup (haven’t tried honey or agave, those may be good too)
- 1/3 Cup Sugar (white or brown, your choice)
- 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (creamy or chunky, your choice)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/8 – 1/4 Teaspoon Salt (omit if using salted popcorn or salted peanut butter)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 8 Cups Popcorn or Plain Rice Cake Crumbles
Preheat your oven to 250ºF.
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the syrup and sugar, stirring and cooking until the sugar is pretty well dissolved. This should just take a few minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, salt (if using), and cinnamon. If the peanut butter isn’t melting, place the pan back on the heat just long enough to coerce that peanut butter in. Stir in the popcorn or rice cake crumbles until well coated with the pb mixture. Spread the popcorn or crumbles out on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish, and pop them in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring once, about mid-way through.
You can eat this snack without baking it, but crisping it up a bit gives the snack longevity for storage, melds the flavors a bit, and provides a nice crunch!
19 thoughts on “Peanut Butter Cinnamon Popcorn … err, sort of”
What a FABULOUS idea!!! (I’m definitely in the frugal-club with you). And this version is actually great for people with corn allergies. I’ll try the agave version and let you know how they come out. 🙂 Bookmarked!!
HOLY FREAKING YUM!!
Good point Ricki, this is corn-free! I forget sometimes how common corn sensitivities are these days.
oh my gosh, this is a great idea 🙂 wish i hadn’t eaten the crumbs out of the bag last night…
This one looks really good! I am so with you on using up little bits of stuff. I also love the idea of making something new out of “leftovers”.
Oh wow! This is really creative, and lets not forget to mention how very tastey it looks. I am going to try this, as soon as I get some rice cakes!
I saw this on Ricki’s blog yesterday. I love the idea of rice cake crumbles as an ingredient.
Wow! I wish I’d thought of that! What an awesome idea. I’m always scavenging the bottom of the rice cake package for crumbs, from now on I’ll save ’em for “popcorn”. :~)
Alisa, you amaze me at the fun things you come up with to eat. I’m stopping what I’m working on right now and headed to the kitchen to make this. I only have agave so I’ll let you know how that turns out. Can’t wait to eat it. Thanks for sharing this on Friday Foodie Fix.
OK, so you can eat the snack both before and after baking. Note to the wise, take out all of those unpopped kernels before you mix in the PB. I used agave and no cin for my guy. It tastes great. Great afternoon snack too. Thanx!!!!
Love the idea of using rice cakes. I bet you could form these into balls too and let them harden?
omg I want to make this…NOW!
i love popcorn and eat it daily. same with PB!
Do you need to grease the baking sheet at all?
I didn’t grease, but I use a non-stick baking sheet or a silicone baking mat. I find greasing baking sheets often causes more havoc and burning than not!
Works amazing with Honey! What a perfect snack for a food craving celiac/lactose intolerant student 🙂
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed and that the honey worked well!
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