sugar & spice popcorn

 as requested by my little boy, "MUM. POPCORN. DON'T BE LAZY"

My sister Louise got me started experimenting with ways to "dress" popcorn.

This is our latest favourite...

Don't ask for exact quantities.

I make my popcorn the old school way however I would like a popping machine so the kids can do it themselves. Once you've made your popcorn, in the same pan melt a couple of tablespoons of butter and the same of sugar just till it gently dissolves, don't boil it. Whilst you are doing this add a teaspoon each of cinnamon and mixed spice, a fair bit of salt and a generous dash of finely ground black pepper. Then add about a teaspoon of vanilla essence or even better, fresh from the pod. The whole mix turns a deep golden colour, pour it over your freshly cooked popcorn. This amount covers about 8 to 10 cups of popcorn, depends on how syrupy you like it. If it was just me and my older son eating it I would add heaps more pepper to make it really spicy! maybe even some chilli - I haven't tried that yet.

I also make a salty caramel popcorn mix by omitting the pepper & spices and adding about a tablespoon of golden syrup, cooking it a bit longer and sprinkling with some salt flakes at the end.