Description
This Christmas Popcorn Candy recipe combines crunchy popcorn with a rich, spiced caramel coating and slivered almonds for a festive, sweet snack perfect for holiday gatherings. The caramel is infused with warm Christmas spices including cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves, then baked to a crisp finish for irresistible texture and flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Popcorn
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
- 1/3 cup popping corn (10 cups popped popcorn)
- 2/3 cup slivered almonds
Caramel
- 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (170g) light corn syrup (substitute glucose if needed)
- 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
- Pop popcorn: Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat and add a few popcorn kernels. When the kernels pop, quickly remove them and add the remaining popcorn kernels to the pot. Shake the pot to spread the kernels evenly, cover with a lid, and gently shake once as popping intensifies. Remove from heat when popping slows to about three seconds between pops. Transfer the popped corn to a very large bowl to yield 10 cups.
- Preheat oven: Set the oven to 110°C (230°F) to prepare for baking the coated popcorn.
- Make caramel: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt until just combined. Allow the mixture to bubble, then simmer without stirring for 4 minutes.
- Add spices and finish caramel: Remove the saucepan from heat, then vigorously whisk in Christmas spices, vanilla extract, and baking soda for 10 seconds until the caramel foams and increases in volume.
- Coat popcorn: Immediately pour the caramel over the popcorn and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top and toss again until caramel begins to cool and harden.
- Bake popcorn: Spread the coated popcorn evenly over two baking trays. Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even caramel coating. If using glucose as a corn syrup substitute, bake an additional 15 minutes for optimal texture.
- Cool and store: Remove trays from the oven and allow the popcorn to cool completely. Gently break into pieces and store in an airtight container. The popcorn candy stays crisp for 2 to 3 weeks.
Notes
- For lighter caramel coverage, use 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels to produce a generous candy-like coating. For a less intense sweetness, increase popcorn kernels up to 3/4 cup.
- Corn syrup stabilizes caramel to prevent crystallization. It’s commonly available in the US and Canada. Substitute with glucose (available in Australian supermarkets), which requires 15 extra minutes baking time.
- Other syrup alternatives include golden syrup, honey, or maple syrup; these also need an additional 15 minutes of baking.
- Store the popcorn candy in an airtight container to keep it crisp and fresh for up to 3 weeks.
