Cheddar Cheese PopCorn

For the last 'Cheese' post this week, I wanted to showcase something that my kids really enjoy, the cheddar cheese popcorn. This is a simple and quick dish to put together and can be a great homemade gift to give others during holiday season. My daughter crazily loves cheese and eats in some form or other everyday for at least one of her meals. One of those happily devoured forms is this yummy, cheddar cheese coated popcorn. I indulge her though I cannot understand her addiction. :)

If you don't have the cheese powder, then the processed cheese powder that comes in the macaroni & cheese box can be substituted. I keep our popcorn just cheesy but chili powder / mustard powder / or any other flavors can be added as well in the recipe. Mix them with the cheese powder and proceed as directed.

 Ingredients:
About 6 cups / 1.5 quarts Popped corn
5 - 6 tbsp. Cheddar cheese powder 
3 to 4 tbsp. Melted butter

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 120 deg C / 250 deg F.
* Pop the corn kernels in whichever method you choose to pop - on the stove top, microwave or the popcorn maker. 
To microwave, put about a handful of corn kernels in a brown bag, fold the bag twice at the top edges and put it in the microwave. Pop them for about a minute, shake the bag once vigorously and microwave again for another half a minute or so. It took about 90 to 95 seconds for me but the time varies depending upon the strength of a microwave. Remove the bag once you stop hearing the popping noise or else it may get burnt easily if cooked for longer than the required amount of time. 

* Separate out the corn kernels that were not popped. You may try to pop them once more as some of them do pop the second time.
* Transfer the popcorn to a wide mixing bowl. Pour the butter over it and shake to coat. Then add the cheese mixture and again shake the bowl for the cheese to coat evenly.
* Pour the cheese coated popcorn onto a baking sheet evenly and bake in the pre-heated oven, stirring once in between. Bake for about 8- 10 minutes or until the cheese dries up and the pop corn is crunchy. 
(I prefer baking after the cheese mixture is poured over the popped corn. Baking gives a uniformly crunchy popcorn without burning. The baking part can be skipped and the cheese coated pop corn can be again put in a brown bag and popped for about 25 - 30 seconds. It will turn crisp in a short time compared to baking but gets burnt quickly.)
* Enjoy it immediately or cool the popcorn and store it in an airtight container.

This goes to 
1. Blogging Marathon #49, with the theme "Cheese".
2. 'Kids Delight' event, with the theme 'Cheese'.

Comments