Since my discovery of the deliciousness of Butterbeer, I must say I have become quite obessed with all things butterscotch. And after creating a wildly popular butterbeer ice cream recipe, I decide to give it a whirl again. This time putting the essence of butterbeer into a delicious popcorn treat.
A word of warning before we begin, this stuff is freaking addicting. It is so gosh darn yummy, before you realize it, you’ll have eaten the entire batch. So you may want to plan some extra work out time before making this.
Oh, and it’s also gluten free, win win!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Popcorn: 1 cup popcorn kernels, popped, or about 16 cups popcorn. ( I didn’t measure the popped popcorn, so this is a bit of a guesstimate )
Butterscotch Sauce:
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp imitation rum extract
1 tsp baking soda
Drizzle:
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 tbsps shortening
Start by making the butterscotch sauce. This is a 3 step process.
Step 1:
Combine brown sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan. Heat over low-medium heat until temperature reaches 240° on a candy thermometer, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add butter, cream, salt and vinegar. Stir until fully combined.
Step 2:
Allow to cool down to 100° or less, and then add rum extract and stir.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200° and pop the popcorn. Divide popcorn into two very large bowls for mixing.
Step 3:
Heat sauce to just boiling over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. The baking soda creates a fluffier sauce that is easier to mix with the popcorn.
Mix half of the sauce with each half of the popcorn, coating well.
Place popcorn into roasting pan(s) or any deeper pan(s) you may have. I used a 13 x 9 baking dish and a huge round deep dish pizza pan.
Bake for about 1 hour, tossing every 15 minutes until sauce becomes crispy on popcorn. Place on waxed paper to cool.
Once popcorn is fully cooled, you can add the drizzle. Melt the chocolate by combining chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 45 seconds, stir and cook again at 20 second intervals until fully melted. Place melted white chocolate in a ziploc bag and cut off a corner to release or use a frosting bag with a narrow tip. Drizzle over popcorn as desired. Allow to cool 15-30 minutes. Place popcorn in an airtight container for up to a week.
And there you have it, the perfect, most delicious treat for holidays, parties, or anytime!
Enjoy!
© 2015, Terri. All rights reserved.
