Lime & Salt Popcorn

Know what they say about the best laid plans?  Exactly.

I had planned to make granitas yesterday, but instead of 90+ degree sunshine, we got cool and glorious rain.  Couple that with a free HBO weekend, and my Sunday suddenly became all about movies on the couch.  And what better snack than some jazzed up popcorn?



My next plan was to make maple syrup kettle corn, but after scorching two batches of that, I had to switch gears yet again.  And it took me two tries to get this Lime & Salt recipe right.  (Good thing all this experimenting was relatively cheap!)  Four batches of popcorn and two sinks full of dishes later, and I finally sat down.

The result?  A peppy Lime & Salt Popcorn that relies on natural ingredients (take that, Orville!) and is the perfect snack for summertime munching.  (Wintertime popcorn cravings?  Head on over to my Gooey Caramel Corn recipe.)

One thing to note - definitely do not skip the oven step.  I was feeling stubborn and almost didn't try it, but I'm so glad I decided to give it a whirl.  That last step of toasting the popcorn in the oven gives it a crunch after you've poured over the lime & salt butter.  It's definitely a must.  And if your leftover popcorn soaked up the humidity in your house?  Pour the popcorn back into your baking sheet for another spin in the oven, and it'll toast right back up.  Love!

Crunch Crunch,

          

Lime & Salt Popcorn
heavily adapted from 101 Cookbooks

2 Tbsp. butter or vegan butter or coconut oil, melted
2 tsp. lime juice (half a lime)
1/2 tsp. lime zest (half a lime)
1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 c. popcorn

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Set aside a large, rimmed baking sheet.

To make the lime and salt butter:
In a small bowl, stir together butter, lime juice, lime zest, and salt, stirring until salt has dissolved. Set aside.

To make the popcorn:
In a large pot or kettle, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add a few popcorn kernels to the pot. Once they pop, add remaining popcorn kernels and shake the pot until they are evenly coated with oil. Cover the pot and shake intermittently until the popping slows to a few seconds between pops. Remove the popcorn from heat.

Pour the popcorn into a large, clean paper bag.  Drizzle the lime and salt butter over the popcorn and fold over the top of the bag.  Shake it baby, shake it baby, 1 2 3.  Spread the popcorn evenly over the baking sheet and bake until the popcorn is dry, about 5 minutes.

Makes approx. 6 cups of popcorn.

         Click here for a printable version of this recipe