Orange Popcorn for Halloween
Company’s calling on Halloween! We’ll have the usual trick-or-treaters who ring the doorbell for a treat or two, but then there will be friends and family who want to pop by just to say hi for a few minutes. A quick punch will be welcome by kids and adults alike, but what about a munchie? What about something a little different from all the treats the kids are collecting — but something that still screams Halloween?
Popcorn to the rescue! Inspired by traditional caramel popcorn, I concocted this orange version to utilize both the color of fall and an unexpected flavor. This candy corn is extremely easy to make and even utilizes a kitchen convenience staple — microwave popcorn! As I was dripping in my orange oil to give the orange flavor to the popcorn, it occured to me that the sky really is the limit as to variations here. Try red coloring and cinnamon oil, green coloring and lime oil, blue coloring and blue rasperry, and well, you get the picture. This popcorn goes quickly, but it doubles and triples effortlessly. The orange oil can be found at most specialty food stores, as well as cake decorating supply stores.
Orange Creamsicle Popcorn
- 1 bag of butter-flavored microwave popcorn, popped (about 10 cups popcorn)
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 drops orange oil
- 6 drops yellow food coloring
- 1 drop red food coloring
Preheat the oven to 250ºF, and spray a 10×15x2 baking sheet with cooking spray, set aside.
Pour the popcorn into a large mixing bowl, picking out any unpopped kernels.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 7 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, orange oil, and food colorings. Drizzle the sugar syrup over the popcorn kernels, tossing gently to coat the kernels. Pour the popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake at 250ºF for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread out on aluminum foil to cool, if desired. Stores tightly sealed at room temperature for several days.
