food gift ideas

Recipe video above. The secret to a great caramel popcorn that&#x27;s evenly coated with caramel with a thin, crispy coating of caramel (rather that globs of sticky caramel) is baking soda and baking the popcorn to dry it out. This caramel corn stays crispy for 2+ weeks!!! CARAMEL COVEREAGE: Use 1/3 cup kernels for full caramel coverage (very sweet, like candy pieces), 3/4 cup for &quot;normal&quot; (see in post for photo and description).

Caramel Popcorn

popping corn ((10 cups popcorn, Note 1

/ 7 tbsp butter (, unsalted)

(220 grams) brown sugar (, packed)

(170 grams) corn syrup

tsp salt

tsp vanilla extract

tsp baking soda

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.

Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once.

Remove from heat when the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl. You need 10 cups of popcorn.

Popcorn

Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F.

Melt butter in a saucepaan over medium heat.

Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir until just combined.

When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes - DO NOT STIR!

Remove from heat then quickly whisk in vanilla and baking soda. When you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.

Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss until caramel cools and starts to harden.

Caramel:

Spread popcorn on 2 baking trays.

Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses - tossing coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. (If using glucose, bake further 15 minutes).

Remove from oven, leave to cool. Gently break into pieces and serve. Stays crisp 2 - 3 weeks!

Baking to crisp:

Recipe video above. This is Caramel Popcorn, dressed up for Christmas! Perfumed with warm traditional Christmas spices and studded with almonds, it is outrageously addictive. Great as a snacky dessert option, for gifting and store-like candy. Stays crispy 2 - 3 weeks!Baking soda makes the caramel coating foamy so it coats the popcorn thinly and evenly, rather than in sticky globs. CARAMEL COVERAGE: Use 1/3 cup kernels for full caramel coverage (very sweet, like candy pieces, pictured in post), 3/4 cup for a lighter coating (still sweet enough but you get some white patches, see this photo for comparison)

Christmas Popcorn Candy

vegetable oil ((not required if air popping with a popcorn maker))

almonds

brown sugar (, packed)

cinnamon powder

ginger powder

allspice powder ((or more cinnamon))

tsp ground cloves ((or more cinnamon))

Remove from heat when the popping almost stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl. You need 10 cups of popcorn.

Add sugar, corn syrup (or glucose) and salt. Stir until just combined.

Remove from heat then quickly whisk in Christmas Spices, vanilla and baking soda. Whisk vigorously for 10 seconds, then when you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.

Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss to coat.

Sprinkle over the almonds, and toss again until caramel cools and starts to harden.

Spread popcorn across 2 baking trays.

Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses - tossing further coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. (If using glucose instead of corn syrup, bake further 15 minutes).

Remove from oven, leave to cool. Gently break into pieces then transfer to airtight container for storage. Stays crisp 2 - 3 weeks!

Recipe video above. I love Golden Gaytime Popcorn. But it&#39;s expensive. So I decided to create a homemade version - with a 68% saving! It costs $8.96 to make this recipe which equates to 5 packets of Gaytime Popcorn which costs $28.75 ($5.75 per packet). After inspecting the packet ingredients, it&#39;s just caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with biscuits crumbs. Easy!One batch makes 780g / 28oz, 12 cups = 5 packets of store-bought Golden Gaytime popcorn.

Golden Gaytime Popcorn - copycat recipe!

popping corn

/ 7 tbsp unsalted butter

brown sugar (, tightly packed cup)

light corn syrup

tsp cooking/ kosher salt

tsp toffee

tsp baking soda (bi-carb) ((Note 3))

plain sweet biscuits ((like Marie Crackers) (Note 5))

Test oil - Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.

Pop - Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once. Then crack the lid a tiny bit - let&#39;s steam escape for crisper popcorn.

Remove from heat when the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl.

Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F (both fan and standard ovens).

Combine - Melt butter in a saucepaan over medium heat. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir until just combined.

Simmer - When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes - DO NOT STIR!

Baking soda &quot;foamy&quot; - Remove from heat then quickly whisk in vanilla and baking soda. When you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.

Coat popcorn - Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss until caramel cools and starts to harden.

Spread popcorn on 2 large paper lined baking trays.

Cool - Remove from oven, leave to cool on the tray for 20 minutes. Then break up the popcorn - no need to be too pedantic, clumps are great!

Baking to crisp caramel coating:

Crumbs - Place biscuits in a ziplock bag and bash into crumbs.

Melt chocolate - Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second increments on high, stirring in between, until melted and smooth - about 1 1/2 minutes. (If doing a small amount of white chocolate, reduce to 20 second increments).

Chocolate piping bags - Transfer chocolate into a piping bag. Use scissors to snip a small opening at the tip.

Drizzle &amp; crumb - Push the popcorn together but in a single layer. Drizzle criss-cross (or any pattern!) all over the popcorn. Sprinkle with biscuits crumbs while the chocolate is wet so it sticks.

Fridge - Refrigerate for 15 minutes until the chocolate is form. Gently break popcorn into pieces. EAT!

Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Stays crisp for at least a week. Our test batches never lasted any longer!

Drizzle and crumbs

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Top 3 food gift ideas recipes from across the web

The most viewed food gift ideas recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Caramel Popcorn

Christmas Popcorn Candy

Golden Gaytime Popcorn - re...

The most viewed food gift ideas recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine