Description

This Christmas Popcorn Candy recipe combines crunchy popcorn with a rich, spiced caramel coating and slivered almonds for a festive treat. The popcorn is air-popped or stove-popped, then coated in a buttery caramel infused with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves. Baked to crisp perfection, this candy is perfect for holiday snacking or gifting and keeps fresh for weeks.

Ingredients

Scale

Popcorn

1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
1/3 cup popping corn (10 cups 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, golden syrup, honey, or maple syrup 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)

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Instructions

Pop the popcorn: Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat and add a few popcorn kernels. Once they pop, add the remaining kernels, shake to coat evenly, cover with a lid, and let them pop. Shake gently once during popping. When popping slows to about 3 seconds between pops, remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl, amounting to about 10 cups of popped popcorn.
Prepare the caramel: Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F). In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring until combined. When the mixture starts bubbling, simmer without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the Christmas spices, vanilla extract, and baking soda vigorously for 10 seconds until the caramel foams and increases in volume.
Coat the popcorn: Immediately pour the foamy caramel over the popcorn and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the coated popcorn and toss again until the caramel cools and starts to harden.
Bake the coated popcorn: Spread the coated popcorn evenly across two baking trays. Bake for 45 minutes at 110°C, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even coating. If glucose or other syrups are used instead of corn syrup, bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Finish and store: Once cooled and hardened, break the popcorn candy into pieces. Store in an airtight container where it will stay crisp and fresh for 2 to 3 weeks.

Notes

Use 1/3 cup popcorn kernels for full, candy-like caramel coverage which is very sweet; use 3/4 cup kernels for lighter caramel coating.
Corn syrup stabilizes the caramel and prevents crystallization; glucose is a good substitute but requires longer baking time.
Other syrup substitutes include golden syrup, honey, or maple syrup, which also require a longer bake time of 15 extra minutes.
Store the popcorn candy in an airtight container to maintain crispness for up to 3 weeks.
If air popping the popcorn, vegetable oil is not necessary.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 180 kcal
Sugar: 15 g
Sodium: 90 mg
Fat: 10 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 22 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 3 g
Cholesterol: 20 mg