Hope you guys had a successful Thanksgiving!
We did.
Actually this year we decided to go low-key..meaning we stayed home and didn’t invite anyone over.
No traveling.
No stress.
No loads of prep.
Totally different for us…and it was awesome.
We have never had Thanksgiving with just us…meaning I have never had to prepare an entire Thanksgiving meal on my own.
And since I know not what I am doing, I decided that Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t that hard to throw together, so we ditched the prep and went to the movies Thursday morning.
We thought we would be the only ones in the theater.
We were wrong.
My husband even had to forgo his “buffer seat” so a lady with a loud laugh would have a place to sit…
He wasn’t pleased. Apparently lots of people procrastinate like I do.
But back to the meal.
So I guess there is actually something to the whole, “prepare for days” thing.
Yeah, it’s a lot of work..especially starting at 2 pm.
Alas, we finally did sit down to Thanksgiving later than expected.
Only to hear from my son, “Thanksgiving dinner isn’t that much different than a regular meal”.
Needless to say, I felt like I failed at Thanksgiving.
It shouldn’t be normal, should it?
So next year, everyone is invited over…and I will prepare for days and days and days.
And days.
And then I will cry and wish I was at the movies with no buffer seat.
Now that turkey is in my rear view mirror, let’s talk Christmas.
I’m easing into the baking month ahead with a quick treat… Candy Cane Kiss Kettlecorn.
I got a few bags of these when I was visiting Hershey a few weeks ago…only one of the bags made it home!
I love kettle corn, and ever since I made it HERE, it has quickly become a favorite!
First make the kettle corn (click here for the step by step)…
Once you’re done with the kettle corn, go ahead and unwrap all your Kisses…
I melted them over a double boiler.. it worked perfectly!
The kisses have these little crunchy bits in them that are so yummy! They also make the popcorn pretty!
Just drizzle the melted Kisses over top of the kettle corn…
And if you’re feeling extra fancy you can add some festive sprinkles!
I used a coarse sugar to add some extra crunch.
Just let it set up and then dig in!
PrintCandy Cane Kiss Kettlecorn
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 (10 oz) bag Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped
- *optional 2-3 Tbsp red sprinkles, or coarse sugar
Instructions
- In a large pot (have the lid handy) heat your vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Place 3 kernels in the pot until they pop so you know the pan and oil are hot enough to add all the kernels.
- When your “test” kernels pop, Add in the popcorn and sugar, stirring quickly until coated. Cover the pot and immediately start shaking the pot back and forth, keeping the kernels moving in the hot pan so they don’t burn, occasionally lifting the pan off the burner, while shaking.
- Allow the kernels to pop, this will take about 1-2 minutes and when the popping slows to about 1 second in between pops immediately remove from heat, continuing to shake the pot, and empty onto a large baking sheet, to stop the cooking. Immediately sprinkle with salt. This will all happen very fast and I suggest you use pot holders on your hands while shaking the pot, as the pot and lid will get very hot.
- Now line a counter with wax or parchment paper and transfer all your kettle corn onto the lined counter in a single layer.
- Over a double boiler melt your unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses.
- Once melted, drizzle over kettle corn evenly.
- Sprinkle with coarse sugar or sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Oh my goodness, so easy & YUM! Thank goodness I bought 2 bags of the kisses, the first got eaten before I had all the ingredients for the popcorn, the kettle corn alone is delicious & so easy!! Thanks! 🙂
being crazy busy and pregnant (with my 5th) this holiday season, I was just despairing over what to do for neighbor\teacher gifts with low budget, low time and low energy. Checking your blog this morning is totally cheering me up, I can make cute bags of this yummy popcorn and check that off the list! I am sure my daughters and I will love it as well. Thanks so much for all your great ideas, I love your blog!
I dream of the day when I don’t have to travel for the holidays and can just make the big feast in my own home. Then, when we’re all full, I’ll go to the movies and maybe hop from one movie to another. Ahhhh….the sweet life.
Speaking of the sweet life, girl, this is such a clever idea! I love me some kettle corn, too. And, dazzled up like this, you certainly can’t go wrong this Christmas!
I never realized how many great things you could do with popcorn until I started following your blog 😉 Now I need to make some of them. I keep saying this on blogs, but this would really make a perfect treat to give away for Christmas!!! 😀
I absolutely LOVE Popped corn in other flavors: like cinnamon, white chocolate, & now peppermint. I’m so anxious to try it!!!
You have just taken kettle corn to a whole new level, my friend!
Candy cane kisses never seem to last long around here either..,.and I’m sure neither would this kettlecorn!
Chocolate covered popcorn is my weakness. This is too much for my little soul to handle. I want a BIG BOWL right now!
I love those kisses! I have never thought to melt them down though, totally need to get on that!
I am so excited to try this. However, I am a little confused about the directions. Should I add the oil in step one or step three? And, should the majority of the kernels be added to the pot in step three? Thanks for clarifying this!
I think in the step by step I had a typo.. I wrote in “oil” instead of “kernels”…
SO yes you add the oil in step one and the sugar and remaining kernels in step 3. I corrected it!! Thanks for the catch.