Sweet popcorn is perfect to be enjoyed while watching a good movie sitting comfortably on the sofa at home, served at children's parties or transformed into a simple snack that will satisfy your craving for sweets. Making popcorn right at home with corn seeds will give you an almost unique flavor, but if you don't have the time or the desire you can also use those ready to be prepared in the microwave. The sweet popcorn recipes listed in this article are numerous, so before deciding which one is the best you will have to try them all!
Ingrediants
Popcorn (basic preparation) 4 servings
- 120 g of corn seeds
- 45 ml of seed oil
Sweet butter popcorn
- 75 g of butter
- 50 g of granulated sugar
- Additional 25 g of granulated sugar
Sweet popcorn with apple and cinnamon
- 1 sweet apple or 240 g of apple chips
- 55 g of butter
- 25 g of brown sugar
- 5 g of cinnamon
- 1 g of nutmeg
- 1 ml of vanilla extract
Chocolate popcorn
- 110 g of dark chocolate chips
- 2, 5 g of salt
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Popcorn Desserts with Butter
Step 1. Heat the oil in a high-bottomed pot, along with some corn seeds
Pour 45 ml of oil and 3 corn seeds into a large high-bottomed saucepan with a lid. When all three seeds have popped, the pot is ready to make popcorn.
- Use a vegetable oil with a good smoke point, such as peanut or sunflower oil (avoid refined or low-quality products).
- If you're using microwave-safe popcorn, simply pop the popcorn package into the oven, then proceed directly to making the sweet sauce. Using this product you will lose some flavor, but the end result will still be great.
Step 2. Prepare the rest of the popcorn
Remove the lid of the pot, then pour 120 g of corn seeds into it. Wait 30 seconds, then turn the heat up to medium-high. This time interval allows the corn seeds to reach the correct temperature, to all burst at roughly the same time.
Step 3. Heat the pot and shake it until you hear the corn kernels bursting
About every 10 seconds, raise the pot and shake it carefully for 3 seconds. From time to time, lift the lid slightly to let the air and excess moisture escape.
Step 4. Add 50g of sugar, then heat the pot until the popcorn is ready
When the first corn kernels start to pop, gradually add the sugar and shake the pot thoroughly to mix the ingredients. Wait until the seeds start to open again, then reheat the pot until the noise subsides until it pops every 1-2 seconds. When the popcorn is ready, pour it into the popcorn bowl and set aside. Do not simply remove the pot from the heat: as it will still be very hot you risk burning the sugar.
- Sugar is able to reach very high temperatures. Before tasting your sweet popcorn, let them cool.
- If the melted sugar starts to burn, take the popcorn out of the pot immediately. There is a fine line between caramelized and burnt sugar, be careful not to cross it.
Step 5. Melt the butter and the rest of the sugar
Mix 75 g of butter and 25 g of granulated sugar. Heat the mixture, stirring carefully until you get a smooth sauce. If you want the result to be caramel-like, let the mixture simmer for an extra couple of minutes. You can also use the microwave to perform this step. In this case, cook the sauce for about 1 minute.
If you want your sauce to have a thicker consistency (caramel-style), use 50 g of invert sugar (produced during the refining of common brown or beet sugar) in place of common granulated sugar. You can use this sauce to season regular popcorn instead of sugary popcorn, but if you are a real sweet tooth, you can also pair it with the latter version
Step 6. Add a pinch of salt
Season the popcorn with 2.5g of salt or to your taste. Salt is one of the natural flavorings par excellence which, combined with sweet preparations, also manages to enhance their sweetness. In this case it helps to mask the bitter aftertaste of burnt corn seeds or cooked syrup.
Step 7. Pour the icing over the popcorn
Stir the sugar-butter mixture patiently until smooth and homogeneous, then pour it over the popcorn. Wait at least 5 minutes before eating them, allowing time for the sauce to cool, making the popcorn crisp.
For an even more crystalline glaze, place the popcorn in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes
Method 2 of 3: Sweet Apple Cinnamon Popcorn
Step 1. Buy or make apple chips yourself.
Buy a pack of dried apple chips, then weigh around 250g. Alternatively, if you have time, make your own using any sweet apple variety (focus on most red apples):
- Slice the apples thinly, trying to get an even thickness.
- Place the slices on a cake-chiller rack. If you do not have them, you can use a classic baking pan, but being careful to turn them halfway through cooking to let them dry evenly on both sides.
- Bake at a minimum temperature of 120 ° C, leaving the oven door slightly open to allow excess moisture to escape.
- Remove the slices from the oven when they are almost completely dry. As a guide, this process should take around 2 hours.
- Let them cool to room temperature. In this way the apple slices should become even more crunchy.
Step 2. Prepare the popcorn as usual
You can do this using a saucepan and hob, as described in the previous method, or you can buy enveloped ones to cook in the microwave. Use plain popcorn, as the butter will be added later.
Step 3. Melt the butter and sugar
Mix 55g of butter and 25g of brown sugar. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently and carefully, until you get a smooth and homogeneous sauce. If you want the result to be caramel-like, let the mixture simmer for an extra couple of minutes.
If you wish, you can substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar. Brown sugar adds a strong caramelized note to the sauce, which goes perfectly with apples and other spices
Step 4. Blend all the ingredients
Pour the sugar and butter sauce into a bowl. Add 5 g of cinnamon, 1 g of nutmeg and 1 ml of vanilla extract. Stir it thoroughly, then use the resulting sauce to season your popcorn. Before enjoying them, wait 2 minutes for the butter to cool.
If you want to add a crunchy touch to your preparation, you can add 250 g of classic walnuts or chopped pecans
Method 3 of 3: Chocolate Popcorn
Step 1. Prepare the popcorn
You can do this using a pot and the hob, as described in the previous method, or you can buy the ones in bags, natural, to cook in the microwave.
Step 2. Melt the dark chocolate chips, then add the salt
Pour 110 g of dark chocolate chips into a container suitable for cooking in the microwave. Add 2.5g of salt, then cook at 10-15 second intervals, stirring carefully between each. Continue cooking until the chocolate is completely melted. Chocolate can burn, separating easily into its main ingredients, so be careful not to overheat it.
Step 3. Sprinkle the melted chocolate over the popcorn
Arrange them on a baking sheet previously lined with greaseproof paper, then cover them with chocolate.
Step 4. Wait for the chocolate to return to solid state
Let the popcorn sit at room temperature for about an hour or until the chocolate turns into a solid outer layer. Enjoy them with whoever you want. If you wish, you can add more salt, according to your personal tastes.
Step 5. Finished
Advice
- If you are making a caramel sauce, add a pinch of cream of tartar to the sugar and butter mixture. This will prevent the sugar from crystallizing once it has cooled, resulting in a smooth, granule-free syrup.
- As soon as you have finished making the caramel sauce, immediately fill the pot with hot water, so that the sugary residues do not stick to the bottom.
