As a child, the approach of Christmas heralded the arrival of several treats in our house: Quality Street Chocolates, Petticoat Tails Shortbread, Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, and my hands-down favourite, Poppycock. The first three items still fill me with delight, but I am able to exert a modicum of control over my consumption. Not so with Poppycock. Maybe it’s the combination of sugar, fat, and salt that hits the brain’s bliss point, or maybe I just lack self-control. Whatever it is, I can’t stop eating the stuff. So I eke out my purchases very frugally.
For the uninitiated (and therefore, uncorrupted), Poppycock is bite-sized chunks of popcorn, pecans and almonds, all coated with caramel,
When I was noodling around trying to decide on an appropriate cupcake for the Dapper Halloween Animals table, I settled on Golden Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting, drizzled with caramel and topped with Homemade Poppycock. That prompted me to figure out how to make Poppycock myself. I always have a jar of Salted Caramel in the fridge. It was just a question of popping some popcorn, adding the nuts and baking the caramel-drizzled combination in the oven on low heat until it all crisped up.
This recipe makes two good-sized jars of the concoction. Not just for Christmas! But it would make a wonderful hostess or teacher gift.
This recipe has a lighter coating of caramel than the original Poppycock. If you prefer your treats on the sweeter side, by all means, increase the quantity of caramel.
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Homemade Poppycock
Ingredients
- 200 g or 24 cups popped popcorn
- 600 g or 2 c unsalted nuts (I used pecans and almonds)
- 330 g or 1 c Salted Caramel, reheated to pouring consistency.
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 225°F.
- Divide the popcorn and nuts between the baking sheets. Drizzle with the caramel and stir to coat.
- Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Let cool completely and store in sealed containers.
Notes
Adapted from Noshing With the Nolands.