Sweet & Salty Patriotic Popcorn

I have a fun 4th of July popcorn recipe to share with you that comes from my Sister In-Law, Richelle.

Every Fourth of July, we look forward to her colorful sweet and salty popcorn she makes for our family firework show.

I really like it because it's simple to make, and not too sweet.  I don't know about you, but I love gooey sweet popcorn, but after I eat several handfuls I feel sick...like I just ate a cube of butter and a pound of sugar! This popcorn is just right.

What I also like about this popcorn is that (most) kids with allergies can eat it too.  Several of our cousins suffer from food allergies, and often get left out of all the fun treats we eat around the holidays.

The ingredients are:

1/2 cup popcorn (gourmet works best, I like Orville Redenbacher)

2 TB oil

3 TB sugar

salt to taste 

(You can add food coloring if you want a burst of color.)

We use a popcorn popper similar to the picture above. 

Add the oil, sugar, unpopped popcorn, and food coloring to the base.  Place the lid over the base, turn it on, and wait for it to pop.  When you hear the popcorn popping start to slow, flip it over, unplug it, and remove the bowl of popcorn.  Add salt to taste while warm.

For the red, white and blue popcorn- pop white first, add red coloring to second batch and wipe clean, add blue coloring to last batch.

**This popcorn popper recommends ONLY using oil while popping, so if you are worried about adding sugar and food coloring, try this recipe in pan with a lid over the stove instead**

We found that if you use a wet rag, you can *carefully* clean the sugar off of the hot surface before it carmelizes onto the bottom of the pan. The sugar and food coloring does discolor the surface.

Like all my warnings?

I just don't want you to be mad at me when you ruin the bottom of your popcorn popper! :)

As always, be careful when you are cooking or handling hot pans and oil! Yes, I have "safety issues."

 

 A fun and festive popcorn treat for the Fourth of July that you can make in minutes!  Enjoy!