Almond, Rosemary & Olive Oil Stovetop Popcorn

I can’t believe it’s already day 10 of my “12 Days of Christmas” recipes!!!

Popcorn is a really big deal in my family, especially during the Holidays. All of my dad’s side of the family has a slight obsession with popcorn, specifically jalapeño popcorn. Okay, maybe a major obsession. Every Christmas, except for this year due to covid, they all come to our grandparents’ and my family’s town, and we all snack on mass amounts of jalapeño popcorn every single day. We probably make multiple batches a day. It’s addicting. That’s a secret family recipe that’s a little too good to share, though. Instead, I’m sharing with you this equally addicting and fast popcorn recipe, bearing much less family sentiment and secrecy.

We have a popcorn maker at both my house and my grandparents’, but I made this recipe over a stovetop to make it easy and accessible for everyone. It takes a total of 10 minutes to make so there’s really no excuse for a quick movie snack that’s 10x tastier and healthy than prepackaged popcorn. Plus, it’s homemade so it’s also 10x more fun to make.

I love almond extract so much, it’s kind of a problem — and I guess it runs in the family, as well. When my oldest brother, Strack, was in high school, he was making vegetable soup one day. Now, this was well before he got more into cooking, so he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. My mom and I came home and found him in the kitchen, hunched over his massive pot of soup filled to the brim with beans, canned veggies, random greens, and potatoes, among everything else in the kitchen — including the sink. Sitting on the counter, right next to the soup, was a bottle of almond extract. Hesitantly, my mom asked him why he had it out, and — brace yourself — he replied that he had added it to the soup. And not just one dash, like he added a lot of almond extract. While it definitely didn’t work in the soup, it does in this popcorn recipe; that is, if you’re a fan of almond extract like my brother and I are. If you’re not a huge fan of it, maybe omit the extract and just add the toasted almonds. Anyway, this recipe brought up that memory, and now my brother and my mom and I can have a good laugh about it.

A few notes when making this recipe:

• don’t add the rosemary in with the popcorn kernels before popping, it will get too fried in the oil and become burnt and bitter

• make sure you toast the almonds beforehand, it’s a fast process once the popcorn is popped so you want everything to be ready as early as possible

• the honey glaze needs to be hot and still slightly bubbling when added to the popcorn, so make sure you wait to heat it up right before the popcorn begins to slow — I suggest doing it at the peak of the sound of the popcorn popping

• if you don’t like almond extract or a strong almond flavor, omit it from the recipe

Almond, Rosemary, & Olive Oil PopcorN

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels

• 2 tbs. olive oil + 3 tbs. olive oil, separated

• 1 tbs. fresh rosemary, roughly chopped or 1 tbs. dried rosemary

• 2 tbs. honey

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional, but adds a stronger almond flavor)

• 2 tsp. flakey salt (if have) or sea salt

• freshly cracked black pepper

• 1/4 cup silvered almonds

First, toast the almonds. Lay the slivered almonds out evenly on a sheet pan and place under the broiler or in a toaster oven until lightly toasted. You can also toast them in a skillet if you prefer. Set aside.

In a heavy bottom, COVERED deep pot, heat 2 tbs. olive oil and 3 popcorn kernels over medium heat until the few popcorn kernels pop. Remove the pot from the heat, add in the rest of the popcorn kernels and 1 tsp. regular salt. Give it a quick shake or stir to coat each piece evenly in salt and oil, cover, and return to the heat — still over medium heat. Cook until the popping slows and 1 pop happens every few seconds. While the popcorn is cooking, prepare the the honey-almond glaze.

Add the 3 tbs. olive oil, honey, rosemary, and optional almond extract into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, or heat the ingredients in a small saucepan until bubbling. Immediately remove the popcorn from the heat once finished popping, add in the almonds, and pour the still-bubbling honey glaze over the popcorn/almonds. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon to coat every piece. Finish with flakey salt or sea salt and fresh cracked popcorn. Toss once more before eating.