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.

Homemade Poppycock

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 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

1. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 225°F.
2. Divide the popcorn and nuts between the baking sheets. Drizzle with the caramel and stir to coat.
3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4. Let cool completely and store in sealed containers.

Notes

Adapted from Noshing With the Nolands.

• Author: Helen Kain