Hi Everyone!
Happy Sunday to you!! Today’s assignment for #SundaySupper is to make something crunchy. Let me tell you this was the hardest task so far. For crunchy all I could think about was celery or burnt food. Neither of those would do for a post. So I asked my Husband, what is crunchy? He said Captain Crunch Cereal. I told him I can’t use Captain Crunch because it’s not healthy, though it was a childhood favorite cereal. So I googled Captain Crunch Cereal, thinking maybe I could make it from scratch. ha ha Impossible!!! I had a recipe saved from a year ago to make Sesame Sticks. I spent two hours making them on a Saturday morning, they looked perfect. I baked them up and tried one, they were ok, but was missing something. So a few hours later, I tried one and guess what, they were soft, not crunchy. That recipe was a bust. So I thought popcorn, I burnt the first batch making it. I stunk up the whole house. Made a second batch, made my recipe that I had in my head and came to realize, I didn’t make enough popcorn and my recipe, all though tasty wasn’t blog worthy. Sigh…. What the heck is crunchy? I wanted to make something a little different. I thought granola bars, but nah, so what next? I had popcorn on the brain, so I did a wing it recipe and to my surprise it turned out, and turned out great! Woohoo!! I did it, crunchy, healthy and a hit with friends and family! Bingo!!!! So I am happy to say I have a recipe for you today!
Today’s recipe is homemade Peanut and Pretzel Popcorn Balls! They are so good! Crunchy and have just the right amount of popcorn, nuts and pretzels. I took these to work and they were a hit and my Husband took some to his work and his friends loved them!! Woohoo!!
These popcorn balls are healthy too and do not contain any corn syrup or marshmallows. To make the sticky syrup I used brown rice syrup and peanut butter! You know I had to get peanut butter in there somewhere. The brown rice syrup works like a dream. You can find it in the health food section of the grocery store. I actually bought marshmallows, but decided at the last-minute to try to make them a tad more healthy and to my surprise it came out perfect!!! As for the popcorn, I gave up popping it on the stove, due to burning and used a healthy bag of popcorn that I picked up at the store. The brand I used is Popcorn Indiana Fit with Sea Salt. I am so glad bagged popcorn worked, it cut the making time in half!! Plus it tasted so good!!! I munched on some popcorn as I was making my syrup. Yummy!
- 10 cups popcorn ( I used Popcorn Indiana Fit Sea Salt)
- ¾ cup honey roasted peanuts
- 1 cup pretzel sticks, broken up (one serving)
- ½ cup brown rice syrup
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray a spatula with cooking spray; set a side.
- In a large bowl add popcorn, peanuts and pretzels; mix together, set aside. NOTE: Make sure you have no popcorn kernels in the mix
- In a medium sauce pan, add brown rice syrup, peanut butter, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Over medium heat, stir to bring to a boil. Keep stirring and let it boil for about two minutes. About 8 minutes total time. Pour over popcorn and with cooking sprayed spatula mix together until popcorn is covered. Pour onto prepared baking sheet.
- Spray your hands with cooking spray and grab a chunk of popcorn and squeeze into a ball. I made mine a little bigger than a golf ball. You must work quickly before the popcorn cools. Make sure when grabbing popcorn you grab some peanuts and pretzels, as they tend to fall to the bottom.
- Let cool for a few minutes and serve and enjoy!
- To store, wrap the popcorn balls in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
These popcorn balls are perfect for a nice snack, to serve at a football party or to put in the kids lunches. The key to keeping them fresh is wrapping them in plastic wrap and storing them in an airtight container.
I am really happy that I got to show you a new and fun recipe! I enjoyed making these and plan on changing up the recipe a little in the future to try different flavor popcorn balls. I’m thinking spicy!!
Have a great day and be sure to check out what the crew made for their crunchy #SundaySupper mission. I can’t wait to see what they came up with!
Toodles,
Jennifer
Crispy Appetizers:
Bitterballen from The Urban Mrs. Caprese Wontons from Jane’s Adventure in Dinner Crispy Broccoli Cheddar Bites from Curious Cuisiniere Waldorf Salad from Noshing With The NolandsCrunchy Entrees and Sides:
Crunchy Baked Chicken with Homemade Shake and Bake from Growing Up Gabel Crunchy Crusted Chicken Strips with Chipotle Honey Mustard from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventure Flautas de Rajas con Queso (Cheesy Poblano Pepper Taquitos) from La Cocina de Leslie Penny’s Taco Salad from Webicurean Popcorn Chowder from The ROXX Box Rosemary Garlic Croutons on layered Savoy Cabbage Soup from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen Strawberry and Mozzarella Flatbread from Family FoodieMunch on Snacks:
Crunchy & Chewy Chocolate Hazelnut Granola from Cupcakes & Kale Chips Crunchy Granola Bars (Better than Nature Valley) from Shockingly Delicious Crunchy Pumpkin Pie Spice Roasted Chickpeas from Daily Dish Recipes Duck Fat Chex Mix from The Texan New Yorker Easy Vegan Granola from Killer Bunnies, Inc Fried Veg Momos with Cheese Recipe from Masala Herb How to Make Homemade Sweet and Salty Trail Mix from Neighborfood Orange Spiced Cashews from Hip Foodie Mom Peanut and Pretzel Popcorn Balls from Peanut Butter and Peppers Roasted Pumpkin Seeds from Hezzi-D’s Cooks and Books Slow Cooker Bar-B-Q Party Mix from Hot Mamma’s Kitchen Chaos Sourdough Grissini from girlichef Spicy Lentil Crackers from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pepitas from Alida’s Kitchen Sweet Potato Chips from Kudos Kitchen By Renee Unbaked Healthy Oatmeal Sesame Bars from My Trials In The Kitchen Vanilla Almonds from That Skinny Chick Can BakeCrisp Dessert:
Boo Berry Cereal Treats from Pies and Plots Choco-Caramel Squares from Basic N Delicious Chocolate Covered Potato Chip Rice Krispie Treats from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Chocolate Pecan Biscotti from The Food Army Wife Cookie Brittle from Juanita’s Cocina Double Banana Pie Krispie Treats from What Smells So Good? Honeycomb Crunch Candy from Food Lust People Love Momofuku Chocolate Chip Cornflakes Cookies from Ninja Baking Nutty Wedges with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream from Magnolia Days Salted Caramel Cashew Cookies from Mess Makes FoodJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
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