Why?

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Actually, those really originated in Japan where they are part of traditional trail mix snacks, and then became popular in Latin America as Japanese peanuts. Why did Isrealis name them "American" peanuts? I don't know... Mostly it would seem to me that their adoption in Israel has the agenda of introducing silly food items that might require 2 brachos... (If they had actually introduced the entire Japanese trail mix, you could make a mezonos on the crackers and a bore pri ha'adamah on the wasabi peas...)

That was my question.
Its mezonos.

I've seen it around.

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My guess would be that the name is to distinguish Peanuts (native to South America) from the Botnim in the Bible (pistachios). Funny how frequently "Americans" forget that there are two whole continents called "America" and the USA is less than half of one of them.

Botnim refer to regular peanuts.

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Funny how frequently "Israelis" forget that there is just a slight tad less than seven continents called "The Rest of the World" and that Israel is not God's gift to man-kind. England on the other hand clearly is, but thats a whole other discussion...

Botnim in modern Hebrew refers to peanuts, but in Bereshit it's doesn't. Kubakim (Botnim Americai) refers to the coated peanuts we're discussing.
It could also be a take-off of Boston Baked Beans, only with more dough and less sugar in the coating, or the recipe of coated Peanuts (using castor sugar) which is typically American.
Now that Hebrew is being spoken again, it is subject to change. Think of the English word terrific. When did that stop meaning full of terror/terrifying, and start to mean wonderful?

Then again, reason needs to come to this discussion.
Look in any store that sells small appliances and tell me why USA Gold Line is cheap junk made about as geographically far from the USA as is possible? I'll bet that has more to do with it than anything else - Israelis love the USA as a marketing rule.

In America they call them "Mexican Peanuts"...

And it's not at all poshut that you make a mezonos on them. I was told 2 brochos....

Not "beer nuts"?

I was told just mezonos.

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Nobody calls pistachios "botnim" in Modern Hebrew. Botnim are peanuts. Pistachios are Pistukim. Botnim Americaim are peanuts coated with a hard shell made out of rice flour and soy sauce, called as K-Reb said "Mexican peanuts" in the US and "Japanese peanuts" in Latin America. And since when exactly was it a great concern for Eliezer Ben Yehuda et al what something means in the Torah?
Stop trying to make up a tall tale where the facts are known. These exact same peanuts exist in Japan where they're part of a trail mix called otsumami. From Japan they were taken to Mexico by Japanese immigrants and they're called "Japanese peanuts" there. From Mexico they were taken to the US, hence they're called "Mexican peanuts" and then they were taken to EY from the US so they call them "American peanuts." And they've been making people crack them open to make 2 brachos ever since.
Wrong. Hebrew as in Lashon Hakodesh is not being spoken again. A constructed 
lanuguage with a lexicon combined from Lashon Hakodesh and Russian, slavic 
grammar with an influence of Yiddish and German, a pronounciation combined from Sephardi
Hebrew, Russian and German and a sprinkle of Arabic profanities is not, by any 
stretch of the imagination Lashon Hakodesh. (Sorry Pinchas)

Are you sure? Soy sauce?

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I think u make 2 berachos on beer nuts - one on the shell and then the inside

You're supposed to separate them?

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Yes, otherwise you can't make 2 brochos.
And I was told you should check at least a few of them for bugs anyway which requires opening up the peanut....

Whos doing all this telling?

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I'd say just wash and that way you won't have to make a mezonos on the shell, a haadamah on the peanut and a shehakol on the bug.

The bug wouldnt require a bracha, and depending on circumstances might actually be permitted to eat.

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According to the B'datz the bracha is mezonos. No separating.

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