Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Sugar Popcorn

Sugar Popcorn
Source: Steve Knight

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons water
food coloring

Pop a large batch of popcorn--like about a Dutch oven full--for each batch you are making.

Transfer to another bowl with your hands, leaving old maids behind. Spray a bowl or pan with non-stick cooking spray or rub with butter. Pour in your popped corn. Sprinkle lightly with salt (optional).

In a large Dutch oven or pan (Teflon really helps), put sugar, butter and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, a couple of minutes. Remove from heat, add a little red food coloring, stir, then immediately drizzle over popcorn, stirring the popcorn all the time. It really helps if you have someone help.

Keep stirring the popcorn until it's pretty evenly coated with the sugar. then let it sit for a few minutes to set up. Then put it in another bowl (or a grocery sack) while you make the next color. Dump in each successive batch when it is set up. When you have done all the colors you want, shake the bag to mix all the colors.

You can do this with walnuts and other nuts. Put the nuts in the syrup and stir until coated and at least partially set up and separated, rather than the drizzling part.

Valentines - 1 batch pink, one darker pink and one white.

St. Patrick's Day - 1 batch green, 1 batch white

Easter - 1 batch each of white, blue, pink, green, yellow (and mix other
colors to make colors like violet and orange).

Cinco De Mayo - 1 batch green, 1 batch red, 1 batch white

4th of July - 1 batch dark pink (enough coloring to make red is too bitter),
1 batch blue, 1 batch white

Halloween and Thanksgiving - 1 batch orange, 1 batch white

Christmas - 1 batch dark pink, 1 batch green, 1 batch white