I’m pretty sure the first time I had kettle corn, my family and I were wondering through a farmer’s market in Texas. A lovely, caramel smell wafted through the air and we discovered a portly, cowboy-hat-wearing gentleman, making kettle corn in a giant cast iron vat. After we sought him out week after week for huge bags of that crunchy, sweet snack, he finally gave my mom instructions for how to make it ourselves. And here I am, many years later, bringing you my recipe for this pumpkin spice kettle corn.
If you haven’t made stove-top popcorn in a while, do not fear! This pumpkin spice kettle corn recipe is super easy, and ready, start to finish, in 5 minutes. With a delicate amount of spice, and a sugary-salty coating, this is the perfect after school, watching football, summer-into-fall snack.
As with all my recipes, feel free to get creative. I used coconut sugar for this pumpkin spice kettle corn, but if you have regular sugar in your pantry, that works great too. Make sure to use an oil that can handle high heat; I use avocado oil or coconut oil.
Pumpkin Spice Kettle Corn
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or coconut oil
- ⅓ cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ t. pumpkin pie spice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and spices.
- Place a large stock pot over medium high heat. Pour in the oil, along with 3 kernels of popcorn. Cover with a lid. Once the 3 kernels have popped, turn off the heat, and carefully remove the popped corn with a spoon.
- Pour in the rest of the kernels along with the sugar mixture, and turn on the heat again. Stir immediately with a wooden spoon. Cover.
- Shake the popcorn vigorously, even before it starts to pop. Do this every couple seconds throughout. Once the popping starts to slow down, remove the pan from the heat. If you wait for all the kernels to pop, you will end up with a large contingent of burned pieces.
- Pour the popcorn into a large mixing bow and sprinkle with salt. Toss and sprinkle again. Allow it to cool for a few minutes; that caramelized sugar can really burn fingers. Happy snacking!
