There’s only one thing better than hot buttered popcorn - sweet caramelized maple popcorn. Taken from The Sapsucker, the local Vancouver Island maple syrup producers bi-annual newsletter, this sticky crunchy treat is a winner.

I must admit, I don’t eat sugar, but a lone kernel found it’s way into my mouth - and was it ever good. This is a fun snack to make with the kids.

Caramelized Maple Popcorn

• 1/2 cup popping corn
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup bigleaf maple syrup ( I used Canada No.1 medium maple syrup - store grade)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pop enough corn to make 10 - 12 cups. Place in a large roasting pan and set aside. In a small saucepan melt butter then mix in syrup, brown sugar and salt. Boil for five minutes without stirring. Don’t let it get to hot, I burned my first batch. Remove from heat then stir in baking soda and vanilla extract. Pour mixture over popcorn and mix well. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Looking for a good all-round barbecue sauce? The Ontario Maple Syrup Producers have a terrific website loaded with maple based recipes. Maple Syrup Barbecue Sauce is one that I have had great success with. It works well in a slow cooker with 3 lbs of ribs cut into 2 inch length pieces.

Maple Syrup Barbecue Sauce

• 3/4 cup (175 ml) pure maple syrup
• 1 cup (250 ml) ketchup
• 2 tsp (10 ml) grated lemon rind, optional
• 1 cup (250 ml) onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) water
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) coriander, optional

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered, in refrigerator for up to 1 month. Yield: about 4 cups (1 L).

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Food, Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.