I am kicking myself for not figuring this out sooner. As in, before we paid enough for kettle corn that we could have financed a college education. Making Homemade Kettle Corn is so easy…and inexpensive! For less than a dollar, we make enough for the whole family (that’s two batches, by the way).
The key, in my opinion, is a old-fashioned stovetop popper, the kind with a tight lid and crank to stir the kernels while they’re popping. We bought ours a few years ago, when we discovered that the built-in microwave in our house doesn’t properly pop popcorn. Crazy, right? Anyway, we invested in a stovetop popper (one with a metal gear on the crank, not plastic that’s grey to look like metal in the photos online…ours was around $40), and have been happily popping away ever since.
Then, the morning of the 4th of July, we were headed to a parade and had no snacks to take. We decided to pop up some corn, and I suggested we throw a little sugar in with the butter and oil…voila, perfect Kettle Corn!
Here’s the simple how-to:
Homemade Kettle Corn
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1. Melt the butter and coconut oil in the popper over medium high heat. Add the sugar and the popcorn and replace the lid. Crank and crank until the popping slows, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn it, since the sugar can make that easy to do!
2. Pour it into a bowl, salt it, and ENJOY!
See…I told you it was easy! This has become our favorite snack, whether for movie night or to take along to a parade or hike. That’s not even our dog in the photo below, but our friends’…she was happy to hang out with the hooligans and their popcorn, though!