It’s funny to think how just a few weeks ago in December, we were all stuffing ourselves with homemade treats and extra helpings of our favorite home-cooked meals. Then on January 2nd, we said no thanks to sugar and carbs and said hello to vegetables, juice cleanses, and the gym?
It’s mid-January now (holy crap, btw), and generally, this is about when our fitness and health goals fall to the wayside and our “unhealthy habits” slowly (or even quickly, who are we kidding) creep back.
Now that some of us have equalized into normal mode, here’s an indulgent, homemade take on a healthy snack. Since all those health magazines constantly talk about how plain popcorn is a healthy snack, let’s turn our bland healthy snack into something full of flavor.
This Spicy Maple Bacon Popcorn brings in the best of sweet and savory, salty and spicy. There isn’t any single flavor that is stronger than the other, making it well-balanced. Unlike other recipes I’ve tasted where some flavors are faint, you can really taste the flavor of the bacon, the maple, the pepper, and the salt.
Making this popcorn takes a little more effort than popping a bag of popcorn into the microwave, but I promise that it is well worth it. Plus, this recipe makes a big batch that you can take to a party (like say a Super Bowl party) or for a movie night.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 slices uncooked bacon
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- cayenne pepper, to taste
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot over medium-low heat, pour in the popcorn kernels and olive oil. Cover with lid slightly ajar. Let the popcorn pop! Shake the pot a little from time to time to keep the popcorn moving. Move popped kernels to a mixing bowl.
- In a medium-sized frying pan, fry 3 slices of bacon. Once cooked, set the bacon aside on a paper towel to absorb extra fat. Then, crumble into small pieces.
- In a small saucepan, pour in the fat from the bacon, the maple syrup, and butter. Stir to combine. When just combined, add in some of the bacon pieces.
- Pour the maple-butter mixture and bacon bits on over the popcorn and use a large spoon to evenly coat the popcorn.
- Add cayenne pepper and salt to taste.
- Serve immediately for freshness. However, the popcorn is still fine and tastes great even after a few hours.
- Store in an airtight container.
