Brown Butter Maple Popcorn
Cozy, crunchy, and kissed with warm fall spices—this brown butter maple popcorn is a total seasonal favorite. Air-popped popcorn gets tossed in a nutty brown butter syrup made with real maple, a touch of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then baked low and slow until crisp. It’s the perfect sweet-and-salty snack for movie nights, holiday gifting, or setting out in little bowls when company comes over.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 10 cups plain air-popped popcorn about 1/2 cup unpopped kernels
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 250°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Pop your popcorn however you like (stovetop, air popper, microwave). Pour it into a big mixing bowl and toss out any stubborn unpopped kernels.
- Brown that butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and let it cook down until it turns golden and smells nutty — about 5 to 7 minutes. Swirl the pan now and then and keep an eye on it; once you see those little brown bits forming at the bottom, you're golden.
- Make it maple magic. Turn the heat to low and stir in the maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Let it bubble gently for about 2 minutes to thicken just a bit.
- Now for the fun part. Take it off the heat and quickly stir in the baking soda and vanilla — it’ll foam up like a science experiment. Immediately pour it over the popcorn and work fast to coat everything before it starts to set.
- Bake to crisp perfection. Spread the coated popcorn out on your prepared baking sheet and pop it in the oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes so it doesn’t clump.
- Cool completely right on the tray. It’ll crisp up as it cools.