Brown-Butter Maple Popcorn With Pecans Recipe

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Senior Culinary Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated Jun. 05, 2019
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Photographs: Daniel Gritzer

In this addictive popcorn recipe, rich brown butter and maple syrup are cooked into a quick caramel, which is then used to both candy the pecans and coat freshly popped popcorn. A generous pinch of salt makes all those sweet-savory flavors pop.

Recipe Details

Brown-Butter Maple Popcorn With Pecans Recipe

Active 10 mins
Total 20 mins
Serves 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup

  • 2 cups pecans, lightly crushed

  • Kosher salt

  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, popped (about 8 cups popped)

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat, stirring and swirling, until foaming has subsided and milk solids have turned a chestnut-brown color, about 3 minutes.

  2. Add maple syrup and stir to combine.

  3. Add pecans and cook, stirring, until a caramel forms and thickens enough to briefly leave a trail when a spoon is scraped along the bottom of the saucepan, about 4 minutes. Season with salt.

  4. Place popped popcorn in a large mixing bowl and drizzle caramel mixture and nuts all over, tossing as you go, until popcorn is evenly coated in caramel. Season with salt, if necessary. Refrigerate popcorn until caramel is set, about 10 minutes. Toss to break up any clumps and serve. Popcorn can be refrigerated in a zipper-lock bag overnight.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
297 Calories
28g Fat
14g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 297
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g 35%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 23mg 8%
Sodium 243mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 36mg 3%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 142mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)