As a child in Hong Kong, I was utterly obsessed with the snack Poppycock. Clusters of nuts, butterscotch & popcorn; it came in gigantic tubs at the local supermarket & was absolutely addictive. The Christmas and New Years period recently was the first which I spent in Melbourne in so many years, & I got a wee bit homesick for Hong Kong. One afternoon I whipped up a batch of this in my kitchen & it was too easy to not share! I used macadamias, almonds & pecans this time; but you can mix and match your favourite nuts in this recipe!

Ingredients

50g peeled macadamias, roughly chopped
50g unbalanced almonds, roughly chopped
50g peeled pecans, roughly chopped
100g bag of Poppin Microwave Popcorn Butter Flavour (from any Woolsworth supermarket)
160g unsalted butter, at room temperature
40ml honey
125g caster sugar
1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
black lava salt, to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degC & line a baking tray with foil. Place the chopped nuts on the tray & toast for about 15 mins or until golden. Pop a baking paper sheet in a large mixing bowl. Prepare microwave popcorn as per instructions on the bag & pour popcorn into the bowl. Separately, place a baking paper on another baking tray.

In a non-stick pan, combine the butter, honey, sugar, a sprinkle of salt & vanilla bean paste over the heat. Bring mixture to boil & let it continue to bubble for about five minutes. Once the caramel is golden brown, mix in nuts & immediately pour mixture into popcorn. Stir quickly to evenly distribute caramel nut mixture before setting back onto the large tray. Be careful not to touch the caramel w your hands, as its super hot & will burn! Sprinkle black lava salt over & allow to cool.

Once cooled, it’s ready to be eaten!

Homemade poppycock keeps for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature.