If you go to the food court in a mall, chances are you will find a place that sells lots of flavoured popcorn. Until this past December, my kids never ate popcorn there. However, my husband and I had to go to the mall and buy a phone and we knew that it would take at least one hour (it actually ended up taking longer). We could have brought snacks from home, but we decided instead to let the kids eat mall popcorn to boost their patience while we shop. Proud parenting moment!

The kids got their popcorn, but when we got to the phone store, there were none available. So we went back to the mall the next week and the kids got caramel popcorn again 🙂 . We finally bought the phone.

Since our two trips to the mall all I can hear in my house is “Mommy, I want caramel popcorn!”. I shudder when I think about the quality of ingredients in the mall caramel popcorn. But that is in the past and now we focus on the present.

So the homemade caramel popcorn was born. Besides the popcorn, I added only three more ingredients. I have made this popcorn many times since our day at the mall and each time is eaten quickly. Sweet and crunchy. What is not to like? But, like everything sweet, it should be eaten in moderation.

The Caramel Popcorn is rich in:

  • healthy fats from coconut oil
  • fiber, vitamins (panthotenic acid, B3, B5 and B6), and minerals (phosphorus and manganese) from corn
Tasty Tuesday: Caramel Popcorn
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 16 cups
 
Caramel Popcorn - sweet and crunchy. With only 4 ingredients (besides the popped popcorn) this is a healthy version of the sugar-loaded caramel popcorn. But, like everything sweet, it should be enjoyed in moderation.
Ingredients
  • 16 cups popped popcorn (approx. ⅓ cup kernels)
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ⅓ cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 240 F.
  2. Heat coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, and vanilla in a pan. Remove from the stove. The oil will separate from the other two. Add 3 tablespoons of hot water (I boil the water in the tea kettle). Stir and press the clumps down with a fork until a delicious shiny sauce forms. Don't despair if the sauce takes time to form. It will happen. Keep stirring until everything is well mixed and the sauce will thicken in about 10 minutes.
  3. Divide the popcorn into 3 big bowls, making sure there is lots of empty space left at the top of each bowl so that you can mix the popcorn with the sauce. Pour approximately ⅓ of the sauce into each bowl. Use your fingers to mix the sauce with the popcorn. Pour less sauce first and after you mix it with the popcorn, decide if the popcorn needs more sauce. I usually have a little bit of sauce left after I mix it with all the popcorn.
  4. At the end you will have sticky and delicious fingers that you can lick before you wash your hands.
  5. Divide the caramel popcorn over 2 parchment-lined cookie sheets.
  6. Bake at 240 F for 15 minutes. Take the cookie sheets out of the oven. Using your fingers, break apart any clumps of popcorn. If you find that the popcorn is too hot, use tongs. The popcorn won't be crispy yet. Put the cookie sheets back in the oven and bake for 15 more minutes.
  7. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and allow the caramel popcorn to cool.
  8. Store in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag so the popcorn does not get soft. Crispy and sweet! Delicious! Enjoy!
Have you tried making caramel popcorn before? How did it turn out?

 

Source of nutritional information

www.whfoods.com

www.nutritiondata.self.com