This Christmas Popcorn should come with a warning. It’s dangerously addictive, and will be the likely cause of many sugar crash sofa naps during this holiday season!
It’s my caramel corn with a Christmas twist – traditional festive spices and a sprinkle of almonds. It makes for great Christmas candy snacks as well as food gifts that’s easy to make in bulk, economical and lasts for 2 – 3 weeks.
Christmas Popcorn
While everybody likes a good Caramel Popcorn, it really is just flat out sweet, and that’s it (but I still love you, Caramel Popcorn, don’t worry).
On the other hand, this caramel popcorn is far beyond just sweet. It’s loaded with warm Christmas spices and is studded with nutty almond for extra crunch. It is insanely, completely and ridiculously addictive!
What you need for Christmas Popcorn
Here’s what you need to make this:
Popcorn kernels – Just plain popping kernels
Holiday spices – I’ve use a mix reminiscent of Gingerbread Men, but you could even just use cinnamon alone and it would still be wonderful!
Corn syrup (or glucose) – This is required to ensure the caramel doesn’t crystallise, ie. when instead of turning into liquid, you end up with sugar grains. You can make caramel without it, but it’s a bit temperamental so corn syrup helps makes it a sure thing.
Corn syrup is not sold in Australian grocery stores but that’s not a problem. Just use glucose instead. It’s just a thicker form of corn syrup which works just as well. I get corn syrup online from USA Foods because I make caramel popcorn regularly for bribing gifting!
Other substitutions: golden syrup is best for the dry crisp coating. Honey also works but it does add extra flavour.
Baking soda / bi-carb soda – An important ingredient which makes the caramel foam up and lighten a bit so you get a more even, thin coverage on the popcorn surface (rather than thick globs that get stuck in your teeth);
Brown sugar – Better than white, for extra caramel flavours;
Salt – Just a touch, to balance out all the sweetness; and
Almonds – Because I think of nuts when I think of Christmas candy! Switch it out with literally any other nut you want – or seeds like pepitas, sunflower seeds or anything else that will hold up in the oven.
How to make Christmas Popcorn Candy
1. The Popcorn
You can either air pop the popcorn using a popcorn machine – in which case no oil is required – or cook it on the stove.
PRO TIP: While air popped popcorn is fat-free, it is not as crispy as stove popped popcorn!
2.Christmas Caramel for Popcorn
Plonk ➔ Simmer ➔ whisk!
Combine the sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan;
Once it starts foaming, simmer for 4 minutes without stirring;
Take it off the stove, then add the spices and baking soda; and …
Foam it! Whisk vigorously and you’ll notice that the caramel increases in volume slightly and becomes a bit foamy. It looks a bit like candy honeycomb. This is due to the baking soda and is key to achieving a thin even coverage of caramel over all the popcorn. Without the baking soda, you end up with thick globs of caramel that gets stuck in your teeth when you eat the popcorn.
3. Bake to crisp it!
Pour the caramel over the popcorn;
Toss well to coat, add the almonds and keep tossing. You won’t be able to get an even coating at this stage because the caramel will harden too quickly. But don’t worry, we’ll fix this during the oven tossing stage!
Bake & toss! Spread the popcorn across two lined baking trays, then bake in a low 110°C/230°F oven for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Baking makes the caramel melt again so it can continue spreading over the popcorn in a more even coating as you continue to toss it. It also dries the popcorn and caramel coating so the caramel coating is brittle and crisp instead of sticky and chewy;
Cool on the trays then break it up into small or large chunks before storing in airtight containers or bags.
What to do with Christmas Popcorn Candy
This particular type of Caramel Popcorn is new to my stable of recipes so I haven’t used it to its full potential yet! But here’s what I envisage:
BribingGifting – Who doesn’t love a homemade edible gift?? (Bonus that it’s super-duper economical, easy to make in bulk and has a shelf life of 2 – 3 weeks!)Nibbly-style dessert – If your family is anything like mine, we inevitably go all out on the mains and tap out before dessert, leaving us too full to eat a full size, proper dessert. So snack-size sweet treats like this are ideal. I am forever scarred by the giant gingerbread house I made once which took me hours to construct, only to be completely rejected by the entire family because everyone was so full after dinner. Only the chimney got eaten. Reluctantly, at that!! I was
seriously peevedshattered, and vowed never again to make an enormous effort for Christmas dinner dessert; andCandy – Certainly with the amount of sugar in this, it totally qualifies as a candy! And it has the shelf life of candy too (2 -3 weeks).
Of course, it also makes for an excellent secret stash of treats, just for yourself. Shh! I won’t tell if you don’t… 😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Christmas Popcorn Candy
Ingredients
For the popcorn
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
- 1/3 cup popping corn (10 cups popcorn, Note 1 for lighter caramel coverage)
- 2/3 cup slivered almonds
For the caramel
- 100g / 7 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 1 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 cup (170g) corn syrup , light (substitute glucose, Note 2)
- 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 more cinnamon)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves (or more cinnamon)
Instructions
Popcorn
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.
- Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once.
- Remove from heat when the popping almost stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl. You need 10 cups of popcorn.
Caramel:
- Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F.
- Melt butter in a saucepaan over medium heat.
- Add sugar, corn syrup (or glucose) and salt. Stir until just combined.
- When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR!
- Remove from heat then quickly whisk in Christmas Spices, vanilla and baking soda. Whisk vigorously for 10 seconds, then when you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.
- Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss to coat.
- Sprinkle over the almonds, and toss again until caramel cools and starts to harden.
Baking to crisp:
- Spread popcorn across 2 baking trays.
- Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses – tossing further coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. (If using glucose instead of corn syrup, bake further 15 minutes).
- Remove from oven, leave to cool. Gently break into pieces then transfer to airtight container for storage. Stays crisp 2 – 3 weeks!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I’d be pretty happy if I found a Dozer under MY Christmas Tree…..
OMG. Made this for Christmas gifts along with some cookies but this Christmas Popcorn was the star! And soooo addictive too. It was so tasty that it makes me wonder why no one has ever thought to add spices to caramel popcorn before? You are amazing Nagi. Happy New Year to you and Dozer!
Hi Nagi, I haven’t actually tried this recipe yet but want to thank you for the wonderful tip of stabilizing sugar syrup with glucose – I had to make heaps of Italian meringue buttercream for a wedding cake and I added a teaspoon of glucose each batch and had not a single crystal! Thank you!
Made this yesterday. Split the batch in half as DD doesn’t like nuts so did hers without. The house smelled fantastic while it was baking. Tastes so good. A keeper for sure.
Oh how I love caramel popcorn! Can I substitute the corn syrup with Rogers Golden Syrup which is made from sugar cane?
I just finished making this and I couldn’t stop eating it, everytime I took it out of the oven to toss I had to grab a few pieces. I did substitute the Christmas Spices with 1 tablespoon of homemade Gingerbread Spice that I had from another recipe I made. Perfection! Thanks for sharing!!
I made this as gifts for Christmas. Everyone loved it! It was easy to make and I couldn’t stop eating the left overs! This will become an all year treat…not just Christmas!
My husband has a serious sweet tooth and he loves popcorn. He pounced on this as I knew he would. I have no great love for popcorn or sweets but I pounced on it too. YUMMERS! This will be a staple in our house now😊Thanks for another spectacular recipe!
Would this be suitable to use your homemade ghee?
Just made this, Super yummy. I thought 3 tsp of cinnamon was going to be too much, but it works just fine. Lots of pans and pots with caramel residue to clean up. Put some in the dishwasher, hand-washed other trays. Fairly fast clean-up.
Going to deliver these to all my neibours.
You really need all that spice to give a little kick to it! I’ve found soaking and the dishwasher does an awesome job for caramel residue! N x
Absolutely fabulous, Nagi. 5 star.
I’m a die hard popcorn addict!
A tip that I was given many, many, (too many!) decades ago was to soak your popcorn kernels in water for 10 minutes. Drain off the water & pat the kernals well with a paper towel, or lint free towel to remove any remaining moisture. Pop as you normally would. You’ll pop nearly every kernal by using this tip/trick. No more popcorn duds inthe botom of the popcorn maker/pot.
Great Tip Mary-Ann, I usually only have a couple left over though so not a big concern 🙂 N x
I made this yesterday as gifts for my customers. Ama-zing! In the Moccona jars with a ribbon it looks great too. (SO not me, so it must be easy!!)
Thank you.
Amazing!
I made this for our board gaming group last night. The phrase “oh wow” came up several times as the whole lot disappeared.
Whilst slightly fiddly in terms of needing to mix up every ten minutes, it is definitely worth it, and I’ll be making again in the very near future.
I used walnut pieces instead of almonds, and next time will add some pecans as well.
Yes, I used golden syrup and it was perfect!
Hi Nagi! Just made this amazing popcorn and can’t stop eating it! 😁 thanks so much for another great recipe! Feliz Natal from Portugal xx
Beautiful pictures. You are such a perfectionist I think😊 I noticed you put up new pics sometimes. Love your work ethic and how much you care!
Thanks so much Macy!! N x
Hi Nagi, is there any other substitute to corn syrup or glucose. Thanks
Hi Nagi! Just made this amazing popcorn and can’t stop eating it! 😁 thanks so much for another great recipe! Feliz Natal from Portugal xx
You need one of the two for this caramel sorry Helen – it prevents the sugar crystallising. N x
Can golden syrup be used instead of corn syrup or glucose.?
Not for this recipe sorry Patricia. N x
Don’t worry about salads Nagi…this looks great! Can’t wait to make it 🙂
Enjoy a well earned break…
Who needs salads when you have POPCORN Vanessa?!? N x
Wow….it is really good! We made this tonight and um… its disappearing really quickly!