Salted Caramel Popcorn Food

SALTED CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
• Pop popcorn kernels using air popper into a large bowl.
• In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 teaspoon salt together over medium heat. Bring to boil. Boil for 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and let it cool for 2 minutes. It needs to stop boiling before you pour it on the popcorn.
• Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir to coat evenly.
• Pour popcorn into lined pan, sprinkle remaining salt on top (1/2 tsp - 1 tsp depending on your personal taste preference) and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
• Allow popcorn to cool on a parchment lined counter.

POPCORN SANDWICH COOKIES WITH SALTED CARAMEL

Steps:

• For the popcorn cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until slightly lightened, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg. Beat until well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
• Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, kosher salt and 1 cup popcorn together in a separate bowl. Place the remaining popcorn in another bowl and set aside. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and mix on low speed until it just comes together to form a dough. Scoop a level tablespoonful of the dough at a time and roll into a ball. Dip one side of the ball into the ground popcorn and place, popcorn-side up, on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten each ball with your hand.
• Bake until the cookies are slightly brown around the edges, 14 to 16 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then remove to a rack to cool completely.
• For the salted caramel: While the cookies cool, add the sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt completely around the edges before starting to stir or it will crystallize. When the sugar turns dark amber, after about 10 minutes, quickly turn off the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Allow the foam to subside, and then add the coarse salt. Allow the caramel to cool until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon of caramel on the center of the bottom side of one cookie and carefully press closed with another cookie, making sure to push the caramel evenly to the edges.

SALTED CARAMEL POPCORN POTS

Steps:

• Pour the cream and milk into a large pan, add the popcorn and bring to a gentle simmer, pushing the popcorn under the liquid and squashing gently on the bottom of the pan. Bubble for 1 min, then remove from the heat, transfer to a jug and chill for at least 6 hrs, or preferably overnight.
• Strain the popcorn cream back into a clean pan and gently reheat, discarding the remaining bits of popcorn. Meanwhile, place the gelatine leaves in cold water to soften for 3-5 mins. When the popcorn cream is steaming and the gelatine is soft, remove it from the water and squeeze out any excess drops. Place in the hot popcorn cream and stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool a little.
• Mix the caramel with the sea salt - start with 1/4 tsp, taste, then add more if you think it needs it. Divide the salted caramel between 2 glasses or pots. Pour the popcorn cream on top and chill for at least 2 hrs, or overnight.
• Serve each pot topped with a few pieces of toffee popcorn and dive in!