Spanish Peanut Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
- 8 ounces light agave nectar (available in natural foods and Mexican grocery stores)
- 1/2 cup Swerve sugar substitute (available in natural foods stores and online)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable butter
- 1 tablespoon kuzu (powder made from an Asian root vegetable; available in natural foods and Asian grocery stores and online)
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 2 teaspoons coconut toddy vinegar (available in Southeast Asian grocery stores and online)
- 15 cups freshly popped lite popcorn
- 1 cup Spanish peanuts
- cooking spray
Preparation
In a medium saucepan cook agave, Swerve and butter on medium-low heat until syrup is just about to boil, about 5 minutes.
In a small cup, dissolve kuzu in water and vinegar. Add to saucepan. Stir constantly until liquid thickens and reduces, another 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Place popcorn in an 8-quart soup pot, followed by the peanuts. Pour mixture from saucepan over popcorn and peanuts. Stir with a long wooden spoon until popcorn and peanuts are evenly coated with syrup. Let sit another 5-10 minutes to cool. If you don’t, the popcorn will fall apart because it is still too warm to stick together.
Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Use a 1-cup dry measuring cup coated with cooking spray to scoop out popcorn mixture. Flip cup over and place popcorn mixture onto wax paper. Spray fingers lightly with cooking spray to keep from sticking to popcorn and form popcorn into a tight ball, keeping the bottom flat on the wax paper. Repeat until the popcorn mixture is finished. Refrigerate popcorn balls for at least one hour to set. Keep refrigerated.
