Amazing Kettle Corn Recipe

Have you ever been to the fair or a carnival, and been enticed by the amazing aroma of freshly popped kettle corn?  That smell is almost impossible to resist, right?  And the sweet and salty taste of kettle corn is even harder to resist!

Did you know that it is VERY easy to make your own fair-style kettle corn at home?  And it tastes just like the delicious, more expensive versions that you can buy, but cost just a small fraction of the price.  In fact, you probably have all of the ingredients sitting in your cupboard right now!  So what are you waiting for?

Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn Recipe

1 cup popcorn kernels
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. salt

* I make my popcorn in a stove-top crank-operated popcorn popper from Crate and Barrel.   It is so easy to make popcorn in, and doesn't burn this way.  I highly recommend buying one!  That being said, you can also make kettle corn in a big pan on the stove with a lid.  Just be prepared to carefully shake shake shake the pan a LOT once the kernels start popping!  Otherwise, the directions will remain the same.

1.  Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a crank-operated popcorn popper.  I never measure the oil, but just make sure that there is a light layer of oil covering the base of the popper.  Add the 1 cup of popcorn, and cover the lid.  Measure the 1/2 cup sugar and set aside.  Turn the stove onto medium-high heat, and slowly turn the crank to distribute the popcorn and keep it moving.

2.  When you hear the first kernel pop, lift up the lid of the popcorn popper, quickly add the 1/2 cup sugar, and close the lid.  Now crank the popcorn maker hard (or shake your pot hard if you are using one), and continue to crank as the popcorn pops.  As the popper gets full and hard to crank, you can carefully dump the popped popcorn into a bowl, and then put back on the heat to pop the rest of the popcorn.

3.  Once all of the popcorn is popped and in the bowl, sprinkle on the salt to taste.

Kettle corn tastes amazing warm, but tastes great cold as well!  In fact, last year I made a few big batches of kettle corn for a birthday party the day before, and it still tasted delicious and crunchy the next day!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family has!  My mom, a self-proclaimed popcorn addict, is the one who introduced us to this recipe years ago, and we've been making it diligently ever since.

And aren't these pink bags adorable?!  They are from Sweetbakingsupply.com, and I love how cute they are!  The best part is that the bag didn't get any oil or grease on it from the kettle corn- score!

Just be aware that if you make this, the neighbors might pound down your front door to try and get a taste of the amazing smell traveling through the neighborhood.  You've been warned ;)

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xo, Laura

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