It’s been two days since I published my gift guide and I’ve made no progress on my holiday shopping list. I have, however, consumed lots and lots of this simple, maple-sweetened caramel corn. I can’t help myself! This is the one time of year that I wish I worked at an office, just for the homemade, powdered sugar-dusted cookies and chocolate peanut butter buckeyes.
I’ve managed to appease my holiday cravings with my own homemade treats. Case in point? This popcorn. It’s dangerously easy to make and I’m powerless in the presence of its salty-sweet, cinnamon-flavored crunchiness. Most caramel popcorn is made with corn syrup, which is an ingredient I’d rather avoid, plus a lot of butter. This healthier, dairy-free, homemade version is made simply with reduced maple syrup, nut butter, spices and the best stovetop popcorn. And it is delicious.
Feel free to change up your caramel popcorn! I added toasted, sliced almonds to match the almond butter, but you could leave out extra nuts or substitute your favorite (I bet pecans would be great). Once you’ve mixed the maple syrup mixture into the popcorn, you could add in some mini chocolate chips, cranberries, toasted coconut, sprinkles… anything that sounds good.
Some notes on alternative sweeteners: If you don’t have maple syrup at home, it is possible to make this caramel corn with honey. I tried it and, as usual, the honey browned too quickly in the oven. I would suggest reducing your oven temperature to 325 if you want to try honey-sweetened caramel corn. You might need to bake it a minute or two longer, but keep a careful eye on it so it doesn’t start to burn. Also noteworthy, the original recipe called for brown rice syrup, which you could use, but I don’t recommend it because I’m concerned about the level of arsenic in concentrated brown rice syrup. (Actually, I’m concerned about arsenic in all rice products, but especially in concentrated forms.) Maple syrup to the rescue!
Make it nut free: I think sunflower butter would work in place of the almond butter, but I haven’t tried. You’ll also want to skip the toasted nuts or use toasted pepitas or sunflower seeds instead. Storage suggestions: This popcorn is best when fresh, but it keeps well in a sealed plastic bag (squeeze out as much air as possible) for a few days. Change it up: You can do so many things with this recipe! Use a different nut butter and different nuts. Toss in dried cranberries, tiny chocolate chips and/or toasted shredded/flaked coconut while the mixture is wet. Use different spices (I think spicy curry powder could be great!) If you love this recipe: You’ll also love my Peppermint Bark Popcorn, Lemon, Parmesan and Black Pepper Popcorn and Stovetop Popcorn with Chili Powder and Dark Chocolate.
