Hosting a Casablanca party movie night? Our Moroccan Caramel Popcorn recipe is a spicy-sweet party snack your Casablanca party. This popcorn recipe uses Dell Cove® Cinnamon and Spiced Sugar Popcorn Seasoning – and Indian spices to make a tasty movie party snack.
We have been catching up on all the movie classic lately, and coming up with popcorn and cocktail pairings for many of our favorite films. And Casablanca is one of them. There is so much to enjoy. The tragic love triangle between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman is classic. I lovethe luxurious vibe of Rick’s Cafe Americain. Here is a fun movie trivia fact. As exotic as the scenes of Morocco look, the majority of the film was shot at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California.
Want a cocktail to pair with this? Get our Casablanca French 75 recipe here. Why the French 75? It is an homage to the movie (and Rick). When Rick’s ex-flame Yvonne shows up at Rick’s bar, he orders a French 75 – a champagne-based cocktail made with gin. Want another bit of movie trivia? The French 75 cocktail was invented by a Scottish barman in Paris, who named the drink after the French army’s field gun used during World War I.
This Moroccan Caramel popcorn recipe is perfect for a Casablanca party. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F, and line a baking tray with a Silpat or silicon baking sheet. Don’t have one? Then line your tray with tin foil and spray the tin foil with nonstick cooking spray.
NOW, POP YOUR CORN
You can use an air popper or microwave popcorn, if you like. If you want to pop on the stovetop, get a large saucepan with a lid. Pour enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and add four popcorn kernels. Cover the pan and place over medium heat.
When the kernels pop, VERY CAREFULLY (because that oil is blazingly hot and can burn you!) add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels and re-cover the pan. Shaking the pan constantly to ensure that the kernels don’t burn. Once the pops are 3 to 5 seconds apart, remove the pot from heat.
Pour your popped popcorn onto the baking sheet. Spread it out and remove any unpopped kernels. Evenly sprinkle a couple pinches salt over the hot popcorn and allow popcorn to cool. Once the popcorn is cool, put the popcorn back into a big bowl and set aside.
NEXT, MAKE YOUR MOROCCAN CARAMEL SAUCE
Whisk together the Dell Cove® Cinnamon and Spiced Sugar Popcorn Seasoning, the remaining spices, salt and the baking soda, then set aside.
Get a medium-sized saucepan. Melt the butter, sugars, honey and molasses over low-to-medium heat. Stir until your sugars have melted and the mixture is just beginning to boil. At this point, stop mixing. (Trust us. Just let it be.)
If you have a candy thermometer, insert it into the pot and continue to allow the sugar-butter mixture to boil until it reaches 238 degrees F. No thermometer? You can guesstimate it: Let the mixture bubble for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Once the mixture reaches the proper temperature – or time – remove the pan from the heat and add the popcorn seasoning and baking soda mix. Then stir that to mix everything together well, for about 30 seconds to one minute.
COAT YOUR POPCORN WITH CARAMEL
Don’t panic if your caramel foams up or changes colors at this stage. It’s happening because of a chemical reaction from the caramel sauce to the baking soda, which is adding more air to the caramel and thinning it out a bit. (Which makes it easier to use to coat your popcorn.)
Important note: You need to stay focused and careful at this step, because you are going to be moving quickly and can burn yourself. (I say this from experience.) Pour your caramel mix over the popcorn in the bowl and quickly stir everything together. Coat everything with the caramel.
FINALLY, BAKE YOUR POPCORN
Spread the caramel coated popcorn on the prepared baking sheet. Bake it for about 45 minutes, stirring the popcorn every 10 to 15 minutes. (This step helps to make sure all of your popcorn is coated with the caramel, and help dry out the candy coating.)
Once the popcorn is crunchy and golden brown, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Break any large clump up into smaller bites and then serve. Store extra in a sealed container.
Recipe Note
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