Homemade sweet cinema-style popcorn with all the flavours of gingerbread. The perfect accompaniment to your Christmas films.
Last weekend we watched our first Christmas film of the year and to get everyone into the festive spirit I decided to make some of my spiced orange popcorn. As I was getting all the ingredients together I realised how much in common they had with the gingerbread biscuits I shared recently, so made a last minute switch to make some gingerbread popcorn instead.
The resulting popcorn was absolutely delicious, so much so that even the non-popcorn fans in the family loved it.
Making your own popcorn at home is really easy, only takes a few minutes and is much cheaper than buying ready-made.
All you need is a large saucepan with a lid (the lid part is essential otherwise you’ll have no popcorn to eat and a kitchen in desperate need of a clean). I took the lid off the pan while I was cooking the first batch to show the boys what would happen and it quickly went everywhere!
The boys really enjoyed getting involved helping me make it. My saucepan has a glass lid so they could watch the kernels of corn burst into popcorn through the lid. It was the first time they’d watched me making popcorn and they found it really exciting.
I made the sauce on the hob and then they helped me mix it all together. Then it was time to settle down to Mickey’s Magical Christmas.
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Gingerbread Popcorn
INGREDIENTS
- 80 g popping corn
- ½ tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tsp ground ginger
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the popcorn
- Put the vegetable oil (½ tsp) in a large saucepan and use some kitchen towel to spread it around the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Add the popping corn (80g) and cover the pan with a lid. Place it onto a medium/high heat, shaking the pan occasionally to stop the corn from burning.
- One the pan is hot enough the corn will start to pop, leave it on the heat until the popping sounds have died down to about once every second.
- As soon as the corn has popped remove the pan from the heat and pour the popcorn into a large bowl (it's essential not to leave the popcorn sitting around in the hot pan as it residual heat will cause it to burn giving it a bitter taste).
Make the gingerbread flavouring
- Place a small saucepan onto a low heat. Add the unsalted butter (2 tbsp), dark brown sugar (2 tbsp), golden syrup (2 tbsp) and ground ginger (2 tsp) and continue to heat until all of the butter has melted, stirring regularly.
- Once the butter has melted pour the sauce over the popcorn and mix/toss until there is a fine coating all over.
- Serve with your favourite Christmas film.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Elaine says
what is golden syrup?
Charlotte Oates says
Golden syrup is a refined sugar product that it really common in UK baking. You can search for recipes online for how to make a version of it at home. Or you can look in speciality British stores – the most common brand is called Tate & Lyle.
Alan Coleman says
The popcorn sounds delicious can you add cinnamon to the sauce ingredients instead of ginger for another festive flavour.
Charlotte Oates says
I would expect that to be delicious.
Kathryn says
Hi, I’m wanting to make this to sell at a Christmas fair, how long in advance can it be made? How is it best to store it? Thanks
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Brilliant idea! This sounds like a perfect Christmas film treat. Love it!!
Have a fantastic Christmas x
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Kate, happy christmas xx
Alida @My Little Italian Kitchen says
What a lovely original Christmassy way to make popcorn. Really nice, I think my children would really love them. Thanks for the recipe. Love your photos!
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Alida. I think my boys were a bit surprised by the gingerbread flavour at first but it soon disappeared. Happy Christmas xx
Eb Gargano says
I love gingerbread and I love popcorn so I reckon I would love this recipe. I’ve never made popcorn at home, though – think my kids would love it and I usefully have a pan with a glass lid for all that important watching 🙂 Thanks for sharing this and all your lovely recipes Merry Chrstmas! Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
If you like gingerbread then I’m sure you’d like this. Jon isn’t a huge fan of popcorn but he loves gingerbread so he really enjoyed this.
A glass lid is helpful but not essential, just listen out for when the popping gets to about 1 second apart and it should all be done.
Happy Christmas Eb x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
You know, I’ve never ever made homemade popcorn! You’ve certainly inspired me. I’m off to do the supermarket run later today with my folks (wish us luck!) and popping corn is being added to the list right now!
Merry Christmas!
Angela x
Charlotte Oates says
Good luck! I need to go to the supermarket on Christmas Eve which I expect will be a bit of a nightmare.
You should definitely try homemade popcorn, it’s really cheap and easy to make and can be a really healthy snack too (although sadly not this version!).
Happy Christmas xx
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Michelle, I was really pleased with how the photos turned out so I’m glad you like them x
Mel says
My little ones are all popcorn fans (me too, actually!) and I love your idea of gingerbread popcorn. That would be the perfect treat for a Christmas eve cinema party watching a classic with everyone. Have a lovely Christmas sweetie. x
Charlotte Oates says
It was one of those ideas that just popped into my head because I’d been making gingerbread and the ingredients have a lot in common. It works really well and everyone in the house loved it!
Happy Christmas to you too xx