Maple-Bacon Popcorn

I made something tonight that I want to share with you.

I was working on the recipe for vegan marshmallows. After several failed attempts with agar-agar flakes I've opted to go a different route tomorrow. In the mean time I had some great snackers in the house that I wanted to make something new for.

A few weeks ago we picked up a ridiculous amount of maple smoked bacon from the local bulk food store. After making pasta carbonara with the stuff it became clear that the maple flavor was too strong to use it in any savory dishes.

The house smelled like maple syrup for days. It gave me the idea to make popcorn with the stuff. I want to share the recipe with you so you can make it too.

Tools:
Silicon spatula, candy thermometer

Ingredients:
8 cups air popped popcorn*
1 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp butter
1 pkg bacon

Spray a big bowl with non-stick spray. Cut the bacon into pieces. I like to use my kitchen scissors to cut the bacon into 1/2" - 3/4" strips shortwise. Fry it up, drain the extra fat. Toss the cooked bacon with the popped popcorn in the coated bowl.
In a small pot cook the maple syrup and the butter until it reaches a temperature of 310F. Quickly pour the syrup over the popcorn and bacon stirring while you pour to coat as much as you can.

*you can use a bag of popcorn for this, but air popped is way better