Peanut Butter Popcorn Balls

1. Line two sheet pans with wax or parchment paper.

2. First you are going to melt the marshmallows. There are two ways to do this, as follows. You can melt the marshmallows on the stove top.

Bring the water in the bottom of a double boiler to a simmer and then place the top of the double boiler on the top. Add the butter and peanut butter into the top of the double boiler; stir until melted. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Or you can melt the marshmallows in the microwave.

Microwave the butter and peanut butter in a large microwave safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, or until melted (keep an eye on it). Add the marshmallows into the bowl and toss to coat. Microwave for an additional 1 ½ minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the marshmallows are completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract.

3. In an extra-large bowl add the popped popcorn (make sure to search through it and remove any un-popped kernels first) and half of the marshmallow mixture. Give it a stir, being gentle so as not to break up the popcorn.
4. Add the peanuts, sunflower seeds and the remaining marshmallow mixture. Stir gently until completely combined. Now it should be cool enough to stir in the yogurt-covered raisins.
5. Spray a little cooking spray onto your hands and scoop out a handful of the mixture. Gently form it into your desired size popcorn ball and place it on the lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
6. Allow the popcorn balls to sit out uncovered for about 2 hours before storing them in an airtight container.

Other suggested stir-ins: peanut M&M’s, chocolate M&M’s, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, candy bar bites (such as Skor, Kit Kat, Snickers) or dried bananas.

If stirring in chocolate, be sure that the marshmallow mixture is mostly cooled so that the chocolate doesn’t melt.