| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
10+
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Ingredients
Set aside:
- 10-12 cups Popped popcorn "giant mushroom" style pictured
First set of ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 2 Tbsp salted butter
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Second set of ingredients:
- 6-8 drops red food coloring gel see notes at end of recipe
- 1 tsp Cinnamon oil see notes at end of recipe
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Ingredients
Set aside:
First set of ingredients:
Second set of ingredients:
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Instructions
Before you start:
- Get all of your ingredients ready. Once the mixture is hot enough to add the food coloring, flavor oil, and baking soda, you will need to move fast and have everything already measured out and ready to go. You also need to have your popcorn in some kind of metal bowl or cookie sheet(s) so you can pour the hot sugar mixture on to it. I use a giant stainless steel bowl that is 18" round by 6" deep, and it works great! It fits in to the oven and I can stir it around without anything spilling. Keep in mind that you need to be really careful with the hot sugary mixture (aka molten lava) to avoid a serious burn.
In a medium/large saucepan:
- Add all ingredients from the first group of ingredients. Just toss everything in. It doesn't need to look pretty! Note: I use a thick-bottomed saucepan, and it helps evenly distribute the heat to avoid any scorching. If you only have a cheaper thin-bottomed pan, no worries. Just stir the mixture more frequently while it is cooking. Stir everything up with a spoon first. If you use a whisk too soon all of your ingredients will get stuck inside the whisk and be a real pain to get out. Switch to a whisk and turn on the heat to medium-high.
- You don't need to stir the mix constantly, but give it a good stir with a whisk every 30-60 seconds or so to avoid scorching. As soon as it starts to boil/simmer, immediately turn the heat down to medium. Now is the time to put in your candy thermometer. At this point I do not stir anymore. Keep a close watch, and immediately remove the pan from the heat/burner once it reaches 250°F.
Once off of the heat:
- Add the food coloring and cinnamon oil; whisk together thoroughly. Be very careful when you mix in the cinnamon oil! It creates a vapor that is potentially very dangerous if you inhale it! Turn on your overhead fan if you have one, or back away from the mixture until it is not as intense. I pictured the vapors here.
- Add the baking soda and whisk it in. Throughout these additions, the mixture will bubble up a bit and get foamy. The color appears lighter at this point also. Note: the bubbling and foaming is why you need to use a a deeper saucepan than seems unnecessary when you first start cooking. Safety first!
- Immediately pour the sugary mixture over your popcorn. Just dump in on in any fashion! Scrape everything out of the pan that you can, but don't take too much time here. I have not melted a rubber spatula with this recipe, but I suppose it is possible. So to avoid ruining equipment, I have been using a silicone spatula I use for pancakes and eggs and it works great. Carefully stir and press the popcorn in to the sugary mix.
- Once you get it mixed up, put the whole thing in to a 250°F oven for 30 minutes. Remove every 15 minutes and stir it up again. The candy will be soft and you will be able to coat the popcorn more thoroughly each time. I press the spatula in to the mix pretty hard and try to really coat each piece of popcorn during these intervals. When it becomes harder to stir and less sticky, it is done.
- Remove the candy popcorn from the oven, give it a quick stir, and carefully dump it out on to a heat-resistant surface. Use your spatula and flatten out the mixture. I like to get it pretty flat; 1-2 popcorn kernels deep is ideal. It will break up in to smaller chunks better this way. Let it cool for about 15 minutes and you are ready to chow down!
Recipe Notes
Don't just stick with cinnamon! There are a ton of different flavors you can try, and the sky is the limit! Here are some helpful measurements for the different flavors I have tried. These are a guideline only. I only use Lorann concentrated food oils. They work really well and taste great. Some flavors need more oil added to the mix than others, but it is entirely up to your taste and the taste of your friends! As for color, any kind of food coloring gel will work fine. I have noticed if you don't add enough color, the popcorn may come out looking a bit brown or gray once it is baked, so I add a couple extra drops each time. Citric acid really brings out the fruity flavors well. Add to the mixture at the same time you are adding the baking soda.
Love the popcorn. Lemon is to die for! What brand of popcorn do you use?
Aha! My very first question and comment on the website! Thank you for taking the time to view everything!
I use Gold Medal Monster Mushroom popcorn. It pops up really well, and has a HUGE kernel. You can use regular popcorn, but it is generally more brittle and delicate, and may not hold up as well to the stirring and hot syrupy candy. With that being said, I buy 50lb bags locally. Amazon has some mushroom popcorn in smaller packages that will probably work fine also. I would be happy to sell you a few pounds if you are local and want to come by!
Thanks again for the inquiry!
Steve