Homemade kettle corn is so easy to whip at home, it allows you to avoid all the loud chewers and mouth breathers at the movie theater!
Ah, popcorn. The world’s most perfect snack food. And yet, completely polarizing. You either love popcorn or you hate it. Some can’t stand the smell of cooking popcorn – burning popcorn is worse. Others conjure up vivid memories as soon as they get a whiff of buttery kernels popping away. I fall into the second category, thinking about movies of my youth and time spent with friends every time I smell popcorn, hear popcorn, see popcorn. It’s a snack food I can never resist.
My most favorite type of popcorn is – and if you know me, this shouldn’t be a shock – kettle corn. A slightly sweet, slightly salty popcorn snack is always a welcome treat as far as I’m concerned. I knew I wanted to make it for The Leftovers Club as soon as I saw my match. Elizabeth is our leader in sending back and forth delicious treats. She organizes, puts up with all of our issues and works tirelessly to make this fun for everyone. It means that she needed some kettle corn – the best snack ever – in her life.
A word on making popcorn at home: there are multiple ways in which to pop kernels. You can heat a bit of oil in a pot over medium heat, then add the kernels and a lid. They’ll pop like crazy, it will be good fun. But I had trouble making the kettle corn this way. I followed the instructions exactly and each time, the sugar burned in the pot and it was disgusting – to say the least. My sure-fire, never-fail method is cleaner, neater and easier. Fill a brown paper bag with popcorn and toss it in the microwave. It acts exactly as a bag of popcorn would. After it’s finished popping – use the same guidelines you would on a normal bag of popcorn, listen for the popping to cease – pour it in a bowl and coat it with sugar. The sugar will stick to the hot popcorn and you’ll have this fantastically easy snack ready to go!
Be sure to check out the other Leftover Club recipes, too! Head over to Elizabeth’s blog to sign up!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Place the popcorn kernels in a brown paper bag. Place it in the microwave and microwave it for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. You should no longer hear kernels popping.
- Place the popcorn in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar and salt on top then toss to coat.
I LOVE the salty and sweet of kettle corn. I am so excited to get this. I don’t think it will last long in our household!!!
Oh my, this is dangerous! I love kettle corn but have just always told myself it’s too complicated to make and settled for having it at fairs and such. Now my kitchen might become a state fair hahah
The kettle corn looks great, I love your little red and white striped popcorn boxes. So cute. We love kettle corn too. We’ll have to try your recipe!
Oh you had me laughing with your opening line…mouth breathers and loud chewers. Ha! I have been obsessed with all things popcorn lately with this pregnancy so making kettle corn is my next night time snack!
What’s more all American than popcorn? My niece hates the smell (never could understand her), but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it especially kettle corn. Yum!
I always have to have popcorn at the movies — and I love to have it at home for movie nights, too. Great to know I can make my own ketal corn
KETTLE*** Lol, did I really just do that?!
We always do homemade popcorn, but never kettle corn! I need to get on this!
Oh my- one of my favorite cheat snacks!
Looks so good and seems much simpler than the syrup method!
YUM! The hubs and I are the perfect example of the “love or hate it” scenario. I LOOOOOOVE regular popcorn and my husband hates it. One thing we can agree on is kettle corn. We both like it and if there’s a theater that has it, we’ll definitely get it. I’ve never made kettle corn at home and I’m totally going to try this! Perfect for a date night in.
My sister-in-law is a kettle corn fiend! Can’t wait to make this for her the next time she watched our menagerie for us.
Oh, how I love kettle corn! I’ll have to try this.
this is the kind o snack i eat fistfulls of and then wonder where it all went after 5 minutes..haha—also your pics are beautiful!
Ha! The husband and I made regular popcorn last night and all I kept saying was I wonder how you make kettle corn at home (googling it didn’t dawn on me clearly). So trying this!
I am a huge kettle corn fan, but I’ve never made my own! I need to try your recipe!!