What’s mad about this is that, even though all of these spices and flavors are so pungent on their own, they actually taste like tutti frutti sweets when together. You can use this sugar for so many things; from a sweetener for porridge, sprinkled over baked bananas, or to make a gorgeous Chantilly cream. It will keep for a while, so if you’re going to make it, you may as well make a batch and keep it in an airtight container.
Whack the bay leaves, orange and lemon jest and all of your spices into a food processor and give it a good whiz. Once that’s well blended add your sugar and whiz again so you’ve got a lovely spiced sugar. Because there’s quite a bit of moistness in the zest and vanilla pod it’s a good idea to pour the sugar onto a baking tray, spread it out evenly then leave it to dry for a few hours.
Once the sugar is nice and dry, pass it through a sieve to catch any larger pieces of spices. Discard anything left behind in the sieve then put your sieved sugar into an airtight container, where it will keep happily for ages.
Spiced Christmas popcorn
Popcorn only takes a few minutes to make but it smells, sounds and tastes brilliant; it’s a great thing to have going on in your home. If you’re feeling a bit creative you can divide the popcorn between some little sandwich bags, tie them with ribbons then give them out as a bit of a Christmas treat to adults and kids. If the sugar settles on the bottom of the bag just give the bag a shake before tucking in.
Put a few lugs of oil and your butter in a large pan over a high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the popcorn and stir well to coat the kernels. Put the lid on straight away and leave it for a few minutes. It will take a few minutes to get going so be patient. As the popcorn gets going give the pan a shake every 30 seconds or so to make sure the kernels all get popped. Put your spiced sugar in a large bowl and when the popcorn is ready add it to the bowl and quickly toss it and stir it into the sugar so the hot popcorn picks up those lovely spiced flavours.
Serve the popcorn in a big bowl or in little bowls dotted about the house. I can honestly say, hand on heart, that this is one of the nicest popcorns I’ve ever had. It’s delicious and has to be better for you than caramels, toffees or cheap artificial sweets.
tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...
1. by Shanon on Fri 23 Dec 2011 @ 19:29
Made Christmas Popcorn tonight...WOW!! gotta be the most delicious popcorn ever!! Not sure it's gonna make it to Christmas :)
2. by TexasTbone on Fri 23 Dec 2011 @ 06:32
what's a whack??? :D lol<br />
i love making my own spiced, or cheesy or sweet popcorn, but this is taking to whole new level
3. by Janet on Fri 16 Dec 2011 @ 02:12
I am dying to make this but I know I cannot get fresh bay leaves here. Can I use dried and use less?
4. by dansushi on Thu 23 Jun 2011 @ 19:53
there seems to be a spelling mistake, jest should be zest. But will be trying this one right now, thanks!
5. by Britney on Mon 20 Dec 2010 @ 21:56
The first time I make this popcorn there was so much popcorn it started to overflow the pot. Amazing enough I had to make another batch the next day, we had already eaten the first. This is the best popcorn ever! PS try using the spiced sugar in your tea.
6. by Jill on Mon 07 Dec 2009 @ 12:46
Do you think you could use brown sugar instead of caster sugar?
7. by flower on Thu 15 Jan 2009 @ 16:34
Hi Jamie
This is the nicest popcorn i have ever tried , the smell in the house was fantastic which just made me want to eat more and more.not bad for someone who hated popcorn before trying yours
Thank You for sharing this with us .
8. by Annebeth on Sat 03 Jan 2009 @ 00:00
What a wonderfull idea, I never thought of spicing sugar and putting it on popcorn.
Right now I am 'drying' the sugar, I'm really curious how it will taste. I put a little too much spices in the sugar (I made a mistake in the amount of sugar one can contains, I have +- 700 grams sugar now), I hope that's not a problem?
And, lastly, can someone tell this Dutch girl how much a knob of butter is?
Greeting
Annebeth (from the Netherlands)
9. by JASMINE on Fri 02 Jan 2009 @ 19:14
these desserts are the best I can't wait to make them.
from jasmine and my cousin lauren.
This is gorgeous. Kids & I had brilliant fun making this & then eating it all in front of a good film. Still got looaaads of sugar left, it's very tempting to just eat it out of the tub it's so yummy!
12. by Lefty on Tue 23 Dec 2008 @ 21:06
Wow everyone should give this a go the smell and flavors are amazing. Had some friends over and they all loved the spiced sugar flavor popcorn yum!
Thanks Jamie
13. by kathryn on Sun 21 Dec 2008 @ 11:23
jamie is true too his word,this is a fab recipe for popcorn!my 2 year old and i had a pre- shin dig with some of our friends,ever1 loved it
daily recipe rss
Made Christmas Popcorn tonight...WOW!! gotta be the most delicious popcorn ever!! Not sure it's gonna make it to Christmas :)
what's a whack??? :D lol<br /> i love making my own spiced, or cheesy or sweet popcorn, but this is taking to whole new level
I am dying to make this but I know I cannot get fresh bay leaves here. Can I use dried and use less?
there seems to be a spelling mistake, jest should be zest. But will be trying this one right now, thanks!
The first time I make this popcorn there was so much popcorn it started to overflow the pot. Amazing enough I had to make another batch the next day, we had already eaten the first. This is the best popcorn ever! PS try using the spiced sugar in your tea.
Do you think you could use brown sugar instead of caster sugar?
Hi Jamie
This is the nicest popcorn i have ever tried , the smell in the house was fantastic which just made me want to eat more and more.not bad for someone who hated popcorn before trying yours
Thank You for sharing this with us .
What a wonderfull idea, I never thought of spicing sugar and putting it on popcorn.
Right now I am 'drying' the sugar, I'm really curious how it will taste. I put a little too much spices in the sugar (I made a mistake in the amount of sugar one can contains, I have +- 700 grams sugar now), I hope that's not a problem?
And, lastly, can someone tell this Dutch girl how much a knob of butter is?
Greeting
Annebeth (from the Netherlands)
these desserts are the best I can't wait to make them.
from jasmine and my cousin lauren.
hi barb, here is his recipe
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/meat-recipes/mince-pies
This is gorgeous. Kids & I had brilliant fun making this & then eating it all in front of a good film. Still got looaaads of sugar left, it's very tempting to just eat it out of the tub it's so yummy!
Wow everyone should give this a go the smell and flavors are amazing. Had some friends over and they all loved the spiced sugar flavor popcorn yum!
Thanks Jamie
jamie is true too his word,this is a fab recipe for popcorn!my 2 year old and i had a pre- shin dig with some of our friends,ever1 loved it