Salted Almond and Honey Butter Popcorn
A share from the wonderful Nikki Gardner at Art & Lemons.
Thanks Nikki!
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I was seven when I first learned to cook. After years of sitting on counters with the cooks in my family, mostly my mother and grandmother, I picked up basic kitchen skills like how to scramble an egg, put together a plate of cheese and sausage (back when I ate cured meats with abandon), and make a giant bowl of peanut butter honey popcorn.
While the women in my family taught me how to bake and cook, my grandfather taught me the finer art of snack-making. The man could also clean and fry a fresh caught bluegill or bass on the spot, but it was his homemade chocolates, peanut brittle, and buttered popcorn that called to me.
kitchen craft: popcorn from Nikki Gardner on Vimeo.
He stood over the kitchen stove every Sunday night churning the red wood handle on the big black kettle until the last kernel of corn had popped. The popcorn cooled as a stick of butter collapsed in a saucepan. He poured it over the corn and added just enough salt to coat each of the hundred some popped kernels. Other than butter, he measured the popcorn, oil, and salt without measuring them. He didn’t need to. Looking at the shallow reservoir of canola oil in the kettle and the weight of kernels in his hands was enough.
Week after week, he made and stored popcorn in a large tin next to his green leather recliner in the family room where we ate our way through the tin and watched T.V. I sat with him through an episode of 60 Minutes then Dynasty or some other serial show that put me right to sleep.
After spending a weekend with my grandparents, I went home and made popcorn. Instead of butter, I melted honey and peanut butter and poured it on top. I came up with this almond butter version that pairs olive oil, orange zest, honey, and coarse sea salt last week when we were all craving nutty caramel corn. I’m not sure my grandfather would approve, but I have to say—Sunday night popcorn is making a come back.
Salted Almond and Honey Butter Popcorn
Makes 8 cups2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1/4 cup popcorn
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/2 cup creamy all-natural almond butter, no salt or sugar added (I use Trader Joe’s raw natural almond butter. If you can only find almond butter with salt and/or sugar, you might want to reduce a bit of both in the recipe, or not depending on your taste)
a pinch of coarse sea salt for sprinkling at the endPlace 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot (not smoking) add 2 or 3 popcorn kernels and partially cover with a lid so a bit of steam escapes. Once the kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn and shake and move the pan constantly until the popping stops then remove from the heat.
Pour the popcorn into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the popcorn with the fine sea salt and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Mix lightly to combine; set aside.
Stir the honey, brown sugar, and orange zest together in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the syrup thickens a little. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the almond butter to fully combine.
Pour the almond butter mixture over the popcorn immediately and stir well with a wooden spoon to evenly coat all the popcorn (I often use the spoon and my hands which can be pretty hot, so if you don’t have restaurant/kitchen hands, use the spoon only). Sprinkle the popcorn with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Let the popcorn sit until it’s cooled to the touch, about 10 minutes or so, depending on how long you can wait.
Tags: Art and Lemons, Nikki Gardner, Salted Almond and Honey Butter Popcorn
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This sounds so yummy! I bet I could reduce the amount of honey and sugar and it’d taste just as good. Love your recipes.
Comment by Jennifer — February 29, 2012 @ 3:30 pm
Our family loves to do a special treat of popcorn (we cook it in a stovetop popper just like your granddad). I was so excited to see this because we are lucky to have a co-op nearby that allows us to buy bulk local honey and fresh ground almond butter. I can’t wait to try it out this weekend.
Comment by Wendy — February 29, 2012 @ 8:38 pm
Thanks so much Jennifer. Yes, you can certainly reduce the amounts of honey and sugar to suit your taste or leave out the sugar and use just the honey.
Wendy, There’s nothing quite like the sound of popping kernels to fill the kitchen with anticipation. Glad to know there is a fellow stovetop popcorn lover out there. We also use other nut butters like macadamia nut butter (for a special popcorn night since it’s a bit pricey even when you make your own) or cashew butter. Lots of possibilities. Enjoy!
Thanks Cynthia for having me here!
Nikki
Comment by art and lemons — March 5, 2012 @ 7:52 pm
I made this for my family for “movie night” … everyone loved it! No need to ever make caramel corn again.
Oh, I added slivered almonds, it was a nice addition.
I don’t really know where to leave this comment. I have a question and the contact tab said leave it on the blog. I just viewed the movie Forks over Knives. I have never held to a vegan philosophy… but this movie was pretty convincing upon first view…. than I thought again. I’m wondering if anybody reading this could give me some enlightenment and tell me what they think about the movie.
Comment by Tomena — March 7, 2012 @ 7:45 pm
Tomena, Glad the popcorn was a hit and I’m definitely trying your slivered almond version next time!
I haven’t seen Forks Over Knives yet so I can’t speak to the movie itself, do you have specific questions about the ethics or health benefits of a vegan diet?
Nikki
Comment by art and lemons — March 7, 2012 @ 8:06 pm
Well, I am the mother of six… so my budget is tight and my time is limited but my goal is to feed my family the best I can. I have always held to the idea that there weren’t bad foods just bad forms of food. We have chickens and a cow. We often make our own butter and mozzarella. We also butcher or own beef, so all of these things are essentially organic. I try to feed my family balanced meals of meat, complex carbs and fruits and vegetables. Be Bop breakfast is a fav around here. After watching this movie though I took a step back. I think I generally focus my meals upon the meat I am serving and comparatively we eat very little “plant food” and WAY too much dairy. I am defiantly feeling like we need to focus more on vegetables and grains and use meat and dairy as flavoring if not cut it out all together. This movie promotes a vegan diet due to their scientific and clinical findings. Which brings me to my stance… and wondering what have these Dr. possibly missed or what am I missing? I think I understand the ethical stances of a vegan but what are the benefits and dangers of not eating meat. I’ve always taken to a “moderation in all things” I’ve never thought you should only eat part of an egg… it makes no sense to me. Anytime in history someone has stepped forward to tell you to eliminate a whole food from your diet the information gets recalled a few years later. Anyway I’ve just found myself questioning our diet and I’m looking for some answers. The next dynamic to this question is my resent hair loss and lack of energy and my husband is suffering from low blood sugar. I did just have a baby and those things are common, but I do believe food to be medicine and I’m wondering what are we lacking, what are we overindulging on and where do I find a standard? I do not trust any standard set by the government and after that there seems to be so much contradictory information out there.
This is probably too broad of a question for just a blog comment but I’m looking for some conversation on the topic.
Thanks,
Tomena
Comment by Tomena — March 8, 2012 @ 11:19 am
Hi Tomena,
Our site does not promote a vegan diet. We do tend to use meat and dairy in smaller proportions and emphasize plant foods. But this is not because animal foods are unhealthy. Not at all. We do this because most of us lead a pretty sedentary lifestyle compared to, let’s say, our grandparents in the early part of the 20th century - when children walked long distances to school and “work” usually meant physical labor. Most of us don’t work physically hard enough to warrant a lot of calories coming from concentrated foods like meat and bread. That’s why we emphasize plant foods and food with fiber like whole grains.
It is beyond the scope of a blog post to address any clinical concerns you might have about your symptoms related to diet. But there are many fine nutritionists out there. Look for one who do not have a extreme regime they are promoting but something more moderate.
Not sure what movie you are referring to…
Comment by Cynthia — March 10, 2012 @ 8:21 am
I was wondering if I could begin the process in my hot air cooker. I usually add warm olive oil and salt to it when the popping is complete. I could then cook the other ingredients and pour over the top.
what do you think:
Comment by lynnita ellis — March 13, 2012 @ 7:47 pm
Hi Lynitta, thanks for your comment. Yes the air popper method works just as well for popping the corn then as you said, prepare the the almond butter mixture and pour it over the popcorn.
Comment by art and lemons — March 14, 2012 @ 5:45 am
sorry typo, I meant Lynnita…
Comment by art and lemons — March 14, 2012 @ 5:46 am
I tried the recipe and loved it! Truly amazing.
Comment by Michelle — April 4, 2012 @ 11:11 am
Michelle, So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for your comment!
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