Peanut Butter Popcorn

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 2 (3.5 oz.) pkg. microwave popcorn, popped
• ½ cup margarine
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 20 large marshmallows

Directions:

1. Pour popcorn into a large bowl. 
2. In a glass or plastic bowl, combine the margarine, brown sugar, and marshmallows.  
3. Cook at 1 minute intervals in the microwave, stirring between each time, until the mixture is melted and smooth.  
4. Stir in the peanut butter until well blended.  
5. Pour the melted mixture over the popcorn, and stir quickly to coat the corn before it cools.

Soft Caramel Popcorn

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 1 bag microwave popcorn  
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 8 large marshmallows 

Directions:

1. Pop popcorn according to package directions.  Dump whole bag into a large bowl.  (To get rid of un-popped pieces:  By handfuls, transfer popcorn from that bowl into another large bowl, leaving “old maids” at the bottom of the original bowl.)  
2. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter, sugar and marshmallows.  Stir until well blended and then pour immediately over popcorn.  
3. Gently stir mixture until popcorn is well coated.

Marsha's Notes:

The longer you cook the sugar mixture, the harder the caramel will be when it cools.

Movie Theater Style Popcorn Update

We still love making popcorn in our house, and with five people, three of which are growing young boys, I love using my popcorn maker for larger batches (as opposed to just a single bag of microwave popcorn). While the microwave stuff still has a place in our house (mom's afternoon snack, or share a bag with my hubby on "grown-up movie night"), I really need to use the popper for the entire family.

When my last jar of the expensive Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil was gone, I got tempted to try something a bit less costly. I never did try the Act II popping oil from Sam's... and living far enough away from my nearest local club that it's not easy to just pop in for oil... ("pop in"... ha, ha! I am so funny.)... I tried something new that I could find on Amazon; Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil, 1 Gallon. With 591 reviews at a 4+ star rating, I thought why not?! A gallon is a bit much, but I read how one person portions theirs out and freezes it, so that was my plan.

And we LOVE it! After portioning it out to freeze, I also discovered that I am getting twice as much for almost exactly the same price as the more expensive stuff. Score! I have pulled one batch of oil out of the freezer, and so far I notice no difference in taste and quality compare to the oil that hadn't previously been frozen, so it's a great way to keep your oil fresher longer. Let's face it... a gallon of oil being used at 3 Tbl. a batch will go rancid before you can use it all if you only use it a couple times a month or less.

I don't know if our taste buds have changed, or this oil is just a touch different, but I had to adjust our recipe slightly. Plus, I have found that I get a much more even coating of salt if I add it to the popper directly, instead of trying to sprinkle it on the popcorn after it's cooked. Because some of the salt stays stuck on the bottom of the popper, we had to up to 1/2 a tablespoon. So, if you want the true "Stokes experience", here is the recipe we follow when using this new Snappy Popcorn Oil.

Marsha's Homemade Movie Theater Style Popcorn

Update: Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 3 Tbl. Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. Gold Medal Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt 

Directions:

1. Place oil, salt, and corn in popper. Pop and enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

Fresh popcorn kernels make such a huge difference, and I get a bigger fluffier batch when I use Orville Redenbacher compared to almost any other brand... but I sometimes go with the cheap stuff too.

How To Make Movie Theater Style Popcorn At Home

Love movie theater popcorn but hate the price? That is totally my feeling. But, feel like you have never been able to quite replicate the popcorn at home? The closest I could ever come was microwave popcorn. That is, until now!

What's the secret? Three things: the popcorn, the oil and the seasoning.

First, use fresh popcorn. It really does make a difference in how much popcorn pops, how big it is, and how good it tastes. Don't believe me? Then take your old container of popcorn, buy a new container of popcorn, pop two batches (one old and one new) and see for yourself.

Secondly, you need to use the right kind of oil if you want the same flavor AND color as movie theater popcorn. Coconut oil is the trick. (Yellow popcorn coconut oil... the white stuff might taste good, but won't give you the color.) The kind I found is a bit expensive, but it really works! If you find something else that works that is cheaper, let me know... but for now, try this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NCEATE/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This oil is solid at room temperature, which confuses some people. Just scoop it out with your measuring spoon. Also, if you go this route, you really need to buy the 3 pack off Amazon with the free shipping because buying a single container costs almost as much with the shipping costs. Don't let the picture fool you. The containers are SMALL (only 1 pound, so fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand small), so three containers won't last you forever... but should make at least ten+ batches of popcorn per container.

Lastly, super fine grain butter-flavored salt tops it all off perfectly. And, unlike at the movies, you can control how much salt you want on your popcorn. Flavacol comes in a TWO POUND carton (like the half gallon milk container size), but you only need 1/2 a tsp, so this one $6 container is going to last me FOREVER!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W8LT10/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh... and I guess you need a good popcorn popper too. I recommend the Stir Crazy popper because it has a rotating bar in the bottom that continuously stirs the popcorn while it cooks to prevent burning and make sure every kernel pops:

http://www.amazon.com/West-Bend-82306-6-Quart-Electric/dp/B00004RC6R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381786269&sr=8-1&keywords=stir+crazy+popcorn+popper

Marsha's Homemade Movie Theater Style Popcorn 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 3 Tbl. Wabash Valley Farms Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil
• 1/2 tsp. Gold Medal Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt

Directions:

1. Place oil and corn in popper. Pop! 
2. Place popped corn into a large sack (garbage bag) and carefully sprinkle with salt (try not to put the salt all in one place). 
3. Close bag and shake to evenly coat. (You can also try a large bowl, but I found that shaking helped disperse the salt the most evenly.) Enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

If you want a more even coating of salt and don't mind up-ing the dose to compensate for what gets left in the bottom of the popper, then up the salt to 1 Tbl. and add it directly to the popper with the oil and corn. Everything gets coated nice a even, and the excess stays stuck to the bottom of the popper. It all cleans and wipes up easy with no noticeable damage to my popper after many, many, many batches, so this is our lazy go-to method. It also saves the added step of putting the popped corn in a bag and shaking it; no broken-up bits from shaking!!!

My brother and his wife were recommended Act II popping oil from Sam's Club, which is only $10 for a gallon (so MUCH cheaper) but we haven't tried it yet, so I can't varify if it works as good as the Wasbash Valley Farms Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil... so I can't personally recommend that... YET... I only saw the oil in the container, and it was semi-soild, so thicker than the runny oil you get at the grocery store but not completely solid like the Wabash Valley Farms stuff. Could be promising... For $10, I think we will risk trying it out. If we do, I will try to update my results here.

 http://www.samsclub.com/sams/act-ii-popping-and-topping-oil-1-gal-jug/163742.ip?navAction=