Description
Christmas Popcorn Candy is a festive treat featuring air-popped popcorn coated with a warm spiced caramel glaze, mixed with crunchy slivered almonds, and baked to perfection for a crisp, sweet snack that’s perfect for holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Popcorn
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
- 1/3 cup popping corn (yields about 10 cups popcorn)
- 2/3 cup slivered almonds
Caramel Sauce
- 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (170g) light corn syrup (can substitute with glucose)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder (or more cinnamon)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves (or more cinnamon)
Instructions
- Pop the popcorn: Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few kernels and wait for them to pop, then remove popped kernels quickly. Add the remaining popcorn kernels, lift the pot off the stove to shake and spread the kernels evenly, and cover with lid. Return to heat and once popping intensifies, gently shake the pot once. Remove from heat when popping slows (count to 3 between pops). Transfer the popped corn to a very large bowl, ensuring you have about 10 cups of popcorn.
- Preheat oven: Set your oven to 110°C (230°F) to warm up while preparing the caramel.
- Melt butter and combine caramel ingredients: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring just until combined. When the mixture starts bubbling, simmer without stirring for 4 minutes.
- Add spices and finish caramel: Remove the pan from heat and quickly whisk in cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, vanilla extract, and baking soda. Whisk vigorously for 10 seconds until the caramel foams and increases in volume.
- Coat popcorn with caramel: Immediately pour the foamy caramel over the popcorn and toss thoroughly to coat evenly. Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the mixture and toss again until caramel begins to cool and harden around the popcorn.
- Bake to crisp: Spread the coated popcorn evenly across two baking trays. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to redistribute the caramel. The caramel may remelt during the first few tosses, helping to coat the popcorn more evenly. If glucose is used instead of corn syrup, extend baking time by an additional 15 minutes.
- Cool and store: Remove the trays from the oven and let the popcorn candy cool completely. Once cooled, gently break into pieces and store in an airtight container. The popcorn candy stays crisp for 2 to 3 weeks.
Notes
- Using 1/3 cup popcorn kernels yields about 10 cups of popped popcorn, providing lighter caramel coverage for a perfect balance of flavor.
- Light corn syrup can be substituted with glucose syrup if desired; note that baking times may be longer when using glucose.
- Ensure the popcorn is spread out evenly during popping to prevent burning and promote uniform popping.
- Whisking the caramel vigorously after removing from heat incorporates air, creating a light, foamy texture that helps coat the popcorn evenly.
- Make sure to bake the caramel-coated popcorn to crisp it properly; this step helps achieve a crunchy texture rather than a sticky one.
- Store finished popcorn candy in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain crispness for up to three weeks.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Christmas popcorn candy, caramel popcorn, holiday snack, spiced caramel popcorn, baked popcorn candy
