Lighter Maple Kettle Corn
Who said deliciously crunchy, tasty, sweet n' salty popcorn is always unhealthy? Not me! Try this recipe to discover a kettle corn you can feel good about.
Servings: 6 - 8
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. neutral flavored oil (30 ml)
- 1/2 c. popcorn kernels (120 g) non-GMO if possible
- 3 Tbsp. maple sugar (about 40 g) - regular sugar works, too! You just won't get the hint of maple.
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- First, place a large pot (8 quart or so) on the stove and crank the heat to medium-high. Immediately add the 2 tablespoons of oil. You want the oil nice and piping hot before you add the popcorn. How do you know when it's ready? Simply add one or two popcorn kernel to the pot. When it/they pop, the oil is ready for the rest of the kernels! I should warn you, though - do not hover over the pot while waiting. Otherwise you'll likely get spattered with oil when the kernel(s) pop. Just keep a nice distance of a foot or two and listen for it.
- Next, add the 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels to the oil and cover the pot with a lid. Once that popcorn really gets going, shake the pot by the handle(s) every couple seconds to keep things lose and to prevent burning.
- In the meantime, add the sugar and salt to a small bowl and stir to combine. Set this aside for now.
- Once it gets to the point where there are a few seconds between each "pop" of popcorn, quickly turn off the heat, transfer the pot to another burner and remove the lid.
- Then, sprinkle the sugar/salt mixture over the top and stir the popcorn with a long handled spoon for a good 30 seconds or so. The heat from the pot with allow the sugar to melt and stick to the popcorn, which is what makes this recipe so magical!Once that's done, immediately transfer the popcorn to your serving vessel of choice. (HINT: Try not to dilly-dally - keeping the popcorn in the pot longer than a couple minutes may cause the sugar to burn!)
Notes
- No maple sugar? No prob - you can also use regular sugar, you just won't get the hint of maple.
- Transfer your popcorn to a bowl immediately after mixing in the sugar to make sure that sugar doesn't burn.
- Keep whatever leftover kettle corn you have in an airtight container to preserve freshness.