Halloween Kettle Corn

5 from 8 votes

Who doesn't love Kettle Corn - crunchy popcorn that is slightly sweet and slightly salty? Halloween Kettle Corn is the perfect homemade treat to dazzle trick-or-treaters both young and old. If you can make popcorn, you can make Halloween Kettle Corn!

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Drying Time in Oven30

Total Time10

Course: Appetizer, Halloween

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 160kcal

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons peanut oil, divided (See Tip 1)
3 drops gel food coloring (See Tip 2)
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup unpopped popcorn

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250° F.
Place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a small bowl. Add gel food coloring and salt. Stir to combine. Add sugar; stir to combine. Add popcorn; stir well to coat kernels. Set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to a large pan with a lid set over medium heat. Add 3 kernels of popcorn. Place the lid on the pan.
When the 3 kernels of popcorn have popped, remove the lid; remove the popped corn.
Add colored popcorn/sugar mixture to the pan; spread evenly on the bottom of the pan. Place the lid on the pan. Cover the top of the pan and handles with a dish towel.
Shake pan in 5-second increments removing from heat while shaking.
When the popping noise subsides, remove the pan from the heat. Carefully remove the lid and pour popped corn into the prepared wire rack. Spread in an even layer.
When Kettle Corn cools, transfer it to the rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 250°F for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: About 5 ½ cups. Repeat with other colors if desired. (See Tip 3)

Notes

Can use vegetable oil in place of peanut oil. However, avoid using olive oil or butter. Neither can withstand the high temperature needed to pop the corn.
You can try using liquid food coloring with the same technique. However, a caveat - I haven't actually tried using liquid food coloring.
You could follow this technique of producing colored Kettle Corn for other holidays. For example, you could make red and white Kettle Corn for Valentine's Day; green, purple, and yellow Kettle Corn for Mardi Gras; green Kettle Corn for St. Patrick's Day; red, white, and blue Kettle Corn for the 4th of July; and red and green Kettle Corn for Christmas. Use your imaging to produce distinctive treats!

Nutrition