Description
A festive Christmas Popcorn Candy recipe featuring crunchy popcorn coated with a rich, spiced caramel and slivered almonds. This treat combines warm holiday spices with a buttery caramel glaze, baked to perfection for a crisp and irresistible snack perfect for holiday gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Popcorn
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
- 1/3 cup popping corn (to yield 10 cups popcorn)
- 2/3 cup slivered almonds
Caramel
- 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (170g) light corn syrup (or substitute glucose)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Christmas Spices
- 3 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder (or additional cinnamon)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves (or additional cinnamon)
Instructions
- Pop the Popcorn: Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few kernels to test; once they pop, quickly add remaining popcorn kernels. Elevate the pot off heat briefly to shake and spread corn evenly, then cover with a lid. Return to heat and shake the pot gently once during popping. Remove from heat when popping slows significantly (about 3 seconds between pops). Transfer the 10 cups of popped corn to a very large bowl.
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 110°C (230°F) to prepare for baking the coated popcorn later.
- Prepare the Caramel: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring just to combine.
- Cook Caramel: Allow mixture to bubble and then simmer for 4 minutes without stirring to prevent crystallization.
- Mix in Spices and Leavening: Remove caramel from heat; whisk in Christmas spices, vanilla extract, and baking soda vigorously for 10 seconds. The caramel will foam and expand once whisking stops.
- Coat Popcorn: Quickly pour the hot caramel over the popcorn and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top and toss again until the caramel cools and begins to harden.
- Bake to Crisp: Spread the caramel-coated popcorn evenly over two baking trays. Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even coating. Note: if using glucose instead of corn syrup, extend baking by an additional 15 minutes.
- Cool and Store: Remove from oven and let the popcorn cool completely. Break into pieces gently and store in an airtight container where it will stay crisp for 2 to 3 weeks.
Notes
- Caramel coverage depends on popcorn quantity. Using 1/3 cup kernels yields a heavy caramel candy coating; 3/4 cup kernels provide lighter, normal coverage.
- Corn syrup stabilizes caramel and prevents sugar crystallization. Glucose is a perfect substitute but requires additional baking time.
- Alternative syrup substitutes include golden syrup, honey, or maple syrup, which also require extra baking time.
- For best freshness and crispness, store popcorn candy in an airtight container for up to 2-3 weeks.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 95mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
