Peanut butter adds flavor as well as protein to these holiday sweets. They can be wrapped in wax paper and then in colored tissue paper to make a colorful centerpiece or gift.
1 cup light molasses
⅔ cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup peanut butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 quarts popped corn
Combine molasses, corn syrup, vinegar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture reaches 250°F or until a little syrup dropped into cold water forms a hard ball. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
While syrup is cooking, spread out popcorn in a deep roasting pan. When peanut butter mixture has been combined, pour immediately over popcorn and stir until popcorn is evenly coated.
Lightly oil hands and shape mixture into 12 balls. Set aside to cool completely.
12 Servings
“The WACS are doing a man-size job, but they are not eating the way the men do, reported Lieutenant Edna Cox of the WAC Training Center, Daytona Beach, Florida, at the recent American Dietetics Association Convention in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The women eat about half as much bread, fewer potatoes, more salads, and less meat. They eat less sugar at the table, but they like desserts.”—American Cookery, December 1943