Saturday is National Popcorn Day, Enjoy These Treats!

Saturday, January 19th is National Popcorn Day! Of course, the best way to celebrate the holiday would be to eat popcorn… popped in a hot air popper, cooked up on the stove, or made in the microwave. If you don’t just want to enjoy the versatile snack plain, you could always make it into popcorn balls. If those two options seem a little to common for you, maybe one of these fun and unique popcorn recipes will strike your fancy… A link to more recipes can be found at the end of this article if you want more ideas.

 

Blueberry & Pomegranate Power Bars

Yield: 12 bars

Ingredients:
8 cups popped popcorn
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup whole natural almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Directions:
Line 13×9-inch pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
Combine popcorn, oats, blueberries, pomegranate seeds and almonds in large bowl.
Combine honey, brown sugar and butter in small saucepan; cook over low heat to boiling; boil 2 minutes. Pour over popcorn mixture and mix thoroughly.
Using damp hands, press mixture firmly into prepared pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into 12 bars.
Dip bottoms of bars into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper lined pan; refrigerate until ready to serve. Store in tight covered container in refrigerator.

 

Cheesy Popcorn Bread

Yield: 9 squares

Ingredients:
4 cups popped popcorn
1 cup yellow corn meal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded jack or pepper jack cheese
1 (4 ounce) can mild, diced green chilies, drained, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
Process the popcorn in a blender or food processor until finely ground.
Pour ground popcorn into a large bowl and stir in corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt until blended.
Beat egg, milk and vegetable oil together in a small bowl and stir into popcorn mixture just until blended.
Scatter cheese and chilies, if desired, over batter and stir just until evenly distributed.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned at edges and tester comes out clean.
Cut into squares to serve.

 

Popcorn Pepperoni Pizza Dippers

Yield: 16 squares

Ingredients:
2 eggs
½ cup Tomato and Basil Reduced Fat Cooking Crème
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
10 cups popped popcorn
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup thinly sliced pepperoni, coarsely chopped
your favorite marinara sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together eggs, cooking crème, Parmesan cheese and black pepper in large bowl. Stir in popcorn, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.
Spread mixture in prepared pan, patting down with spatula or spoon.
Bake about 15 minutes until set and lightly browned. Let sit 5 minutes. Cut into 16 bars. Serve warm with marinara sauce.

 

Apple Popcorn Brittle

Yield: About 7 cups

Ingredients:
1 quart popped popcorn
2 cups apple and cinnamon flavored cereal
1 cup cocktail peanuts
3/4 cup apple juice (Note: 3/4 cup apple pop wine may be used instead of apple juice)
1 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a bowl, toss together popped popcorn, cereal and peanuts. Set aside. Butter sides of a heavy 2 quart saucepan.
In saucepan, combine apple juice, sugar, corn syrup, vinegar and salt.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil.
Cook to hard ball stage (250 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer).
Remove from heat. Pour syrup over popcorn-cereal-peanut mixture; toss to coat.
Spread in a buttered 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1-inch baking pan. Cool until hardened.
Break into pieces.

 

BBQ Popcorn Seasoning Mix

Yield: About 1/3 cup

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
tablespoon paprika
teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store mixture in an airtight container.

Notes:
To use: Spray popped popcorn with cooking spray.
Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of seasoning mix for each quart of popcorn.

 

Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn

Yield: 3 quarts

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or table salt)

Directions:
Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl; set aside.
In a large pot with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add popcorn kernels and cover. When kernels begin popping, carefully lift lid and sprinkle in confectioner’s sugar. Replace lid and continue cooking, shaking pot frequently, until popping begins to slow. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Replace lid and continue shaking pot until popping has almost stopped (be careful not to burn). Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

 

Honey Mustard Snack Mix

Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients:
1 quart popped popcorn
2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Spread popcorn on a baking sheet. Drizzle honey over popcorn and sprinkle with dry mustard, cumin, salt and pepper.
Bake about 9 minutes and toss just before serving. Serve warm.

 

All of these recipes  come from The Popcorn Board, whose website can be found at https://www.popcorn.org/.

For more fun and tasty popcorn recipes, please visit: https://recipes.popcorn.org/.