I know it's been kind of a long time since I last posted a sweet recipe - what can I say, I'm just so wholesome and health-conscious - but I've been holding onto this one for a while; and by 'holding onto' I mean 'making and remaking and eating vast amounts of it'. No hate, no hate. But seriously, this is comprised almost entirely of my favourite things, including coconut oil, peanut butter, and popcorn. Not including whiskers on kittens or warm woolen mittens, but hello, this is the internet, I'm sure you can find those elsewhere.

Other things the internet is surprisingly full of? Vegan fudge recipes. Like, the 'I'm gonna live til I'm 103!' style of recipe, which I'm not against, but there are times when I wanna eat fudge, and there are times when I wanna eat mashed banana with agave syrup and pureed avocado, and those two times don't generally coincide. I'm vegan, guys, I'm not dead. Butttt... I don't want to pack my body with margarine and twelve cups of white sugar, either (not every day, anyway). And this is where I give myself all the awards, because this recipe is not only vegan and healthy, but it actually tastes like fudge.

Wait, I'm not using enough caps here. IT'S VEGAN. AND IT'S GOOD FOR YOU.

AND IT ACTUALLY TASTES LIKE FUDGE.

Not any old fudge, either. Salted Popcorn Peanut Butter Fudge. The beauty of this is that the bulk of a fudge recipe is usually a ton of sugar, whereas this uses peanut flour for a super high protein, low-fat hit of peanutty goodness (although I have tried this with coconut cream powder, which worked, but I suspect different brands may give different results with that). The fat here is mostly coconut oil, which is one of the healthiest fat sources you can nail down, plus some chunky PB (I said healthy, I didn't say low-calorie). Part of the sweetness is thanks to maple syrup (you could use agave!), so you only need 1/2c. of icing/powdered sugar compared to the 2.5c. of most recipes out there. That's 80% less refined sugar, people. Finally, for kicks, popcorn, because who doesn't like popcorn. NOBODY FUN HATES POPCORN.

God, I wish I could high-five myself. Honest to god truth, this is one of the best recipes I've ever concocted, right up there with my ultimate vegan brownies and those ridiculous stollen scones.

Am I full of myself todayyyy. Or am I just full of fudge?

Salted Popcorn Peanut Butter Fudge

60ml (1/4c.) coconut oil

60ml (1/4c.) maple syrup

60ml (1/4c.) chunky peanut butter

2 Tbsp non-dairy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

70g (1/2c.) icing/powdered sugar

70g (1/2c.) defatted peanut flour

240 ml (1c.) air-popped popcorn - I microwaved 50g (1/4c.) of kernels in a brown paper bag for five minutes or so, and had a little more popcorn than I needed. But if you can't think of something to do with spare popcorn, we can't be friends.

First off, pop yo' popcorn. Awesome.

Stir the coconut oil, maple syrup, peanut butter and milk together in a saucepan over a low-medium heat, til the oil has melted and they've started to combine: up the heat and allow the mixture to boil for a minute or two. Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla and salt. Stir in the sugar, carefully, and then the peanut flour (if you add both at once it'll go everywhere, not that I speak from experience or anything). Combine smoothly, then add a cup of popcorn and make sure it's all evenly mixed through.

Pour into a foil or foil-lined loaf tin: mine was a standard 2lb size (around 19x9cm). Or, you could double the recipe and put it in a square 8x8" tin, if you're sure other people are gonna be around to save you from yourself and you can afford all those ingredients, which I can't. Chill in the fridge or freezer, and cut into twelve pieces once it's set. I prefer to keep it in the freezer, where the texture is a little firmer, but if you live somewhere cooler than me, the fridge might be enough. 

Enjoy :D.