14/01/2019

Celebrate popcorn with these great recipes!

Popcorn is a versatile and delicious snack for kids. With national popcorn day coming up, we’ve selected the best recipes for you to try out with the kids.

There’s a lot to love about this super snack, containing serotonin to boost your mood and naturally gluten-free it’s the perfect pick me up for January.

Sweet popcorn recipes

Easy peasy cinema popcorn

Ingredients

80 g popcorn kernels
1 tsp vegetable oil (if cooking on the hob)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar

Method for Popping the corn

Microwave: put the kernels in a large microwaveable bowl and seal the top with 3 layers of microwaveable cling film. Pierce the cling film several times. Microwave for up to 3 minutes (remove when there’s over a second between each ‘pop’).
Hob: heat oil in a large heavy saucepan with a lid. When the oil is hot, add the kernels and put the lid on. Shake occasionally to stop the popcorn from burning/sticking. Take off the heat when there’s about a second between each ‘pop’.

Method for flavouring the popcorn

Put the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a large saucepan and put on a low heat. Gradually melt the ingredients and mix together to form a sweet and sticky sauce. Take off the heat and mix in the popcorn. Serve and enjoy in front of a film!

Chocolate popcorn shards

Ingredients

200 g milk chocolate
200 g white chocolate
2 x 30 g bags popcorn (or make your own using the methods above)

Method

Line 20 cm x 30 cm baking tray with baking paper. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over boiling water on the hob (milk and white chocolate separately). Pour the majority of the melted chocolate on the tray, swirling the milk and white chocolate. Sprinkle the popcorn on top of the chocolate. Drizzle remaining chocolate over the popcorn. Chill in the fridge until set. Break up into shards and share out!

Check out this BBC Good Food recipe

Caramel apple popcorn

Ingredients

100 g popcorn kernels/3 bags of microwave popcorn (prepared as per instructions)
225 g dried apple
340 g butter
340 g light brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla paste

Method

Preheat oven to 160℃ and line a large baking tin. Prepare the popcorn (microwave or hob). Mix butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla in a pan and gently heat together until fully melted and smooth and glossy. Add popcorn and dried apple together in a large, lined baking tin and pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn evenly. Heat for 20 - 30 minutes and leave to cool before tucking in. Delicious!

Get the recipe here.

We love these ideas to satisfy a sweet tooth - but there’s more to popcorn than a sugar fix. Here are our top savory popcorn recipes:

Smoky and spicy popcorn

Ingredients

50 g popcorn kernels
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander

Method

Pop the corn (as per instructions). Transfer the popcorn into a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil over the popcorn and sprinkle in the spices. Cover with a lid and shake the bowl so that the spices cover the popcorn evenly.

Parmesan popcorn

Ingredients

70 g popcorn kernels
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbs oil (olive/sesame/groundnut)
20 g finely grated parmesan cheese
Pinch salt
Black pepper

Method:

Pop the corn (as per instructions). Combine the melted butter and oil and drizzle over the popcorn. Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the popcorn and season well. Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy these delicious snack ideas!