Recipe: Green Candied Popcorn

Freshly popped homemade popcorn is one of our favorite go-to snacks at our house. I love that it is healthy (low in calories with lots of fiber!) and since we pop our own, there are no added chemicals or preservatives. Lately, in addition to a little sprinkle of salt, I have been experimenting with different flavors by adding cinnamon, paprika, garlic powder, or chocolate.

And when I came across this recipe from Skip to my Lou a couple days ago, I knew I had to give it a try. I was going to wait until St. Patrick's Day but decided why not make them this week and next week? :)

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.

Then add 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar.

Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar.

Once mixture boils, add in 1/8 teaspoon green food coloring and stop stirring.

Boil for 5 minutes. Do NOT stir! 

Remove from heat and carefully stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Working quickly and while mixture is foamy, pour mixture over 8 cups popped corn and gently stir to coat. (Spray the bowl with cooking spray. The original recipe didn't tell me to do so and I lost a few guys.)

Place popcorn into a large roaster or rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at a preheat oven of 200F for 15 minutes. (The original recipe states to bake the popcorn for an hour, stirring every minutes 15 but I honestly didn't see the need for it.)

I separated the popcorn since they were starting to stick together and forming into popcorn balls.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups popped popcorn, lightly seasoned with salt
• 2 tbsps unsalted butter 
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp green food coloring
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In heavy saucepan on medium, heat melt butter. Add sugar, corn syrup, salt and cream of tartar. Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar.

Once mixture boils, add in food coloring and stop stirring. Boil for 5 minutes. Do NOT stir.

Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla and baking soda. Working quickly and while mixture is foamy, pour mixture over popped corn and gently stir to coat. (Remember to put a light coat of cooking spray on the bowl to avoid sticking.)

Place popcorn into a large roaster or rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at a preheated oven 200° F for 15 minutes.

Linking up to:

Paisley Passions: Fun w/ Food Friday
For the Love of Blogs: Tasty Tuesday