Maple Rosemary Popcorn

Savory, herbaceous, and lightly sweet – this maple rosemary popcorn is the perfect thing to put out at your next holiday party, or just have around for snacking all winter long.

I love popcorn, because I’m human. But Eddie – man, does he LOVE popcorn. Like if it was legal to enter into a common law marriage with a food product, well let’s just say I would be nervous. As a result, we pop a lot o’ corn in this house. Sometimes though, especially when the snow is falling outside, and people are getting ready to ring in the new year (BUH-BYE 2019) you’re gonna need something a little more festive than just plain old butter and salt.

Maple Rosemary Popcorn

So for those of you humans who love their popping corn with a little winter sparkle, this recipe is for you. Savory, a little sweet, and of course buttery as all get out, this crispy, crunchy snack will have you coming back for repeat handfuls (just park yourself in front of the bowl, you know you want to).

What You’ll Need to Make Maple Rosemary Popcorn

• Popcorn kernels – These can be fancy like from the farmer’s market, or just your standard grocery store fare. But whatever you do this CANNOT be microwave popcorn. Not that tearing open a bag of dangerously hot popcorn is necessarily a bad thing on movie night. But in this case you need to start with the popcorn seed for maximum flavor and flexibility.
• Oil – This is for popping the kernels, and shouldn’t really add any real flavor to speak of. A neutral oil with a relatively high smoking point is perfect here – think canola, vegetable, rice bran, grapeseed, or avocado.

• Buttah – You simply must not skip the stuff. I suppose though that if you are strictly vegan or otherwise allergic to dairy you can use a little extra of your neutral popping oil.
• Maple syrup – Pick something grade B, the darker the better.
• Rosemary – You don’t need a ton, but fresh is (almost) always better in the herbal department.
• Salt – I use kosher, because that’s what I have on hand, but if you use the finer kind just cut the amount in half.

How to Make Maple Rosemary Popcorn

This is a little more involved than nuking your standard bag of weekday popcorn – but that’s why it’s so special! Luckily you can make a big old batch and keep it on hand all week long for snacking, so the teeny amount of extra work is totally worth it.

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or coat lightly with non-stick spray.
2. Heat your neutral oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels and cover with a tight fitting lid. Shake the pot (keeping the lid on) occasionally while the kernels pop. Remove the pot from the heat as soon as the popping settles down to less than one pop per 2-3 seconds. Leave the lid on until the popping stops completely. Transfer the popcorn to the rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
3. Using a food processor, blender, mortal and pestle, or just a sharp knife, pulverize the salt and rosemary together until thoroughly combined. You won’t use all of it for this recipe, but the extra can be sprinkled over pasta, grilled meats, or into salad dressings for a savory, herbal hit.
4. Melt the butter over medium-low heat until it lightly sizzles. Add the maple syrup and rosemary salt and stir until combined. Drizzle the butter mixture over the popcorn and toss to coat evenly (I find using your hands for this is the most effective).
5. Bake the popcorn in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until the popcorn begins to feel dry to the touch. It won’t completely dry out and crisp up until it cools, but it shouldn’t be wet either. Let the popcorn cool on the pans for at least 30 minutes before serving or storing in an airtight container.

Tips for Making Maple Rosemary Popcorn

Popcorn should be fun and easy, so these tips are pretty straightforward…and fun and easy!

• Don’t use microwave popcorn. Not only is buying loose popcorn seed more economical it’s better for you. The chemicals inside those bags of the microwave stuff are kind of weird.
• Whisk your butter mixture until the salt dissolves completely. That way the popcorn will be evenly salted, because whoever gets a bland piece is sad, and that’s no good.
• Toss the popcorn thoroughly with the butter mixture. I like to do this with my hands, which I realize is a little messy, but ultimately the best way to do it.
• For light and crisp popcorn, let it cool completely before serving. This will dry out a lot in the oven, but will continue to do so as it cools.
• Store in an airtight container for up to a week, if it lasts that long.

As this is the last post for 2019, I hope you all have a beautiful holiday and a happy and safe new year. Look forward to lots of new and tasty recipes in 2020, oh and Jo Eats baby!

And for more party worthy snacks, check these out:

• Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts
• Salted Crispy Peanut Butter Bars
• Cheesy Everything Crackers
• Easy Lemon Hummus

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