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Crunch into a bowl of sweet, salty Kettle Corn with Lauren & Gillian! Kettle Popcorn just may be the perfect summertime snack… ADULT SUPERVISION RECOMMENDED!
Ingredients for Kettle Popcorn:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white popcorn kernels
1/3 cup oil (corn, vegetable, canola)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt
NOTES: A heavy, four quart saucepan is the perfect size for this recipe. Oven Mitts will protect your flesh. Wear them. You’ll thank me later.
Safety First! Hot oil and popping projectiles, not to mention a lot of vigorous shaking of kitchen equipment can make for dangerous conditions in the kitchen! You may consider suiting up just to eat this stuff! Alright. Not really. But be sure to watch the video, Popcorn Stars!
Let’s get poppin’!
Pour oil in saucepan, cover with lid and heat over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Oil should be heated, but not smoking. See the reflection of the camera in the oil? This makes me feel like the M. C. Escher of Kettle Corn.
Remove lid and pour popcorn kernels into the pan all at once.
Pour in sugar all at once.
Stir the kernels and sugar into the oil. This allows for more even distribution of the sugar. Work quickly; kernels may begin popping at any time.
Replace lid and begin shaking pan in a circular motion. Continuous shaking ensures that the sugar will not burn, stick or clump. This is quite an arm workout, btw.
After 4 – 5 minutes, when popping has stopped, you will have a pan full of popped, hot, scorching, sticky, burn-inducing Kettle Corn. And possibly a sore arm.
Carefully… like with oven mitts on… pour the hot, sticky Kettle Popcorn into a bowl. You will notice some un-popped kernels. Get over it. I wonder if it has something to do with the sugar that there seems to be more “Old Maids” in Kettle Corn than regular Popcorn. If you fret about popping every kernel, you’ll ultimately burn the batch… and that really is a tragedy.
Salt to taste, 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon. The salt really helps bring out the sweet and makes it taste just like the stuff you get at the fair. If not better :) Store or transport cooled Kettle Corn in an airtight bag or container.
Search terms: averagebetty, teen, tween, betty, kettle corn, popcorn stars, kettle popcorn, county fair recipes, best popcorn recipe, homemade kettle corn recipe, after school snack recipe, summertime snack, salty, sweet, fun recipes, recipes for kids, adult supervision recipes
Link to the Popcorn Stars video.
Link to the Popcorn Stars! blog post.
Looking for more snacks?
Coconut Shrimp
Chicken Strips with Dipping Sauces
Hummus with Vegetables and Fresh Pita Chips
Mini-Burgers
Jalapeno Poppers
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Nah, show me the sweet stuff!
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Blazin’ Creme Brulee
Double Chocolate Cookie Sundae with Chocolate Fudge
Easy Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares
Sugar Cookies with Easy Icing
Chocolate Pudding Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Easy Ice Cream in a Bag
brooklyn says
can you tell me how to make frittlers
Average Betty says
Hi brooklyn!
Do you mean fritters? Here is my recipe: http://www.averagebetty.com/?p=177
They are savory – not sweet. Does this help?
Cheers,
Betty
brooklyn says
i am thanky you becaouse you are awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brooklyn says
i halft to go by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Average Betty says
Thanks, brooklyn! Have a fun day… Bye!
Gera @ SweetsFoods says
Oh great recipe to make popcorn… how necessary are the goggles for the pop jumpers LOL!!
Cheers,
Gera
Hugging the Coast says
As a popcorn addict, I greatly enjoyed this! Looks good!
air says
great recipe girls. tried it tonight and it was a big hit with our friends,
Average Betty says
Thanks, Gera! The goggles are kind of a joke – but not the oven mitts! I burned myself pretty badly on a scorching kernel <3
Hugging the Coast! Thank you!! I’ve never been too much of a regular popcorn fan, but this stuff is pretty addicting!
Hi air :)
So glad you tried the recipe and you and your friends liked it! Thanks so much for dropping by to let us know!!
Love y’all,
Betty
HoneyB says
I am jealous. I cannot do this….for as much as I have tried I have burned myself and the popcorn every time!
Average Betty says
Oh no, HoneyB!
It is one of the most vigorous recipes I know of. Sorry to hear it’s not working out for you… They do make these things called Whirley Pops that make it a lot easier, probably $25-30.
If it makes you feel any better, I got a whopper of a blister on my finger from a hot, sugary popped corn landing on it!
Cheers,
Betty
Ted says
Will this work in a popcorn machine, like the ones we see at the show only on a much smaller scale?
Average Betty says
Hi Ted!
Can you describe the popcorn machine a little better – not sure I know what you mean… it will work in a Whirley Pop:
http://www.popcornpopper.com/24000.html
Cheers,
Betty
Ted says
It has a electricly heated pot. a motor that stirs the popcorn. We use it at fund raisers at the school and all the time at home. I’m thinking it should work.
Average Betty says
I think it should too… Let me know, Ted! I’m curious!! Better yet, take a picture and I’ll put it on the homepage :)
Good Luck!
Kelsey/TheNaptimeChef says
yes! finally a recipe I can do at home for Kettle Corn. This might actually rival the kind from the fair!
Average Betty says
Just keep shakin’ Kelsey and it does, I promise you :)
MimesNotDead says
Oh my God, I just made this 5 minutes ago and it’s AMAZING! XD It’s delicious…I’ve never made kettle corn myself before, so needless to say I burnt a few, but it really is tasty! :D
Average Betty says
WooHoo MimesNotDead!
That is music to my ears. So glad you like it!! Thanks for commenting :)
Jon says
Not only is the kettle corn hot;so are the young ladies. I got a Whirly Pop at a yard sale for $2 ;unused!
Chef Tom says
hahaha! I took the Amtrak from NY to Lancaster, PA the other day to visit my brother who lives in York. While I was on the train I had my trusty iPod and I watched your latest video podcast and was cracking up. I loved it. Can’t wait for the next one.
Average Betty says
Thanks, Chef Tom!
How funny, do you know I was born in Lancaster, PA!?! Pretty appropriate time to watch my podcast ;)
Do you mean the Chef Jet Tila interview? Or the Popcorn Stars episode? Either way, I’m glad you enjoyed the show. Hearing that you were “cracking up” is music to my ears :)
Thanks for stopping by and letting me know!
xoxo,
Betty
Chef Tom says
Yeah it was Popcorn Stars! :-)
Randa says
Can I make this kettle corn in my commercial popcorn maker? I own a video store and we offer free popcorn–would like to provide this on special occasions!
Average Betty says
Hi Randa,
I’ve never tried it, but someone emailed saying they had used some sort of commercial maker for a church picnic with good results — but I have no idea what type of “commercial popcorn maker” they have.
I don’t want to be responsible for ruining your popcorn maker, so I don’t know!! If you do try it, please share your results! Thank you!!
Natasha Marvin says
Oh, yumm!
This looks so delicious! I know what I am going to be doing tonight, testing out this awesome recipe! The picture of the girls looks is adorable.
Thank you, and keep up the great work!
Natasha