Homemade Honey-Mustard Popcorn Is the Upgrade Your Movie Night Needs

I suppose one could, if they so desired, make honey-mustard popcorn by squirting liquid honey and French's mustard all over it. It would without a doubt be honey-mustard popcorn. It'd also be soggy and wet and disgusting. Better is to do what snack-food companies do and sprinkle the popcorn in a honey-mustard dry mixture.

Here's the good news: I've already worked out how to make the honey-mustard dry mix (it includes powdered honey, dry mustard, buttermilk powder, citric acid, and a couple other things, and it tastes a lot like the seasoning on Snyder's honey mustard pretzels). So all you have to do is pop some corn, toss it with this DIY honey-mustard seasoning mix, and you're good for a more flavorful movie night, or snack bag, or whatever you're making popcorn for.

Just a couple notes on this very, very simple recipe:

• Don't sleep on the popping method here. The kernels are popped in a generous amount of oil, which leads to what we think is some of the objectively best popcorn on the planet, fluffy and crisp all at once. But not only is the popcorn so superior when popped this way, it's also evenly and lightly coated in a sheen of fat that helps the dry seasoning stick to it. You will have a much harder time getting the mix to stick onto air-popped popcorn.
• While we think putting actual honey and wet mustard on popcorn is a bad idea, we will admit that the powdered honey required to make the dry mix isn't as flavorful as real liquid honey, and when applied to the popcorn, the flavor isn't quite as prominent as one might hope. We won't blame you if you lightly drizzle some liquid honey on top after you've seasoned the popcorn. It'll be stickier, but also tastier.

In a large pot, combine oil, popcorn kernels, and a pinch of salt. Cover pot and set over medium-high heat. Cook, shaking pot often, until popcorn begins to pop. As soon as popping has slowed to once every few seconds, remove from heat. Let stand until all popping has stopped, then open pot and transfer popcorn to a large serving bowl.

Immediately sprinkle honey-mustard seasoning mixture all over hot popcorn, tossing to evenly coat. Season with additional salt and drizzle with some liquid honey, if desired, then serve.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The popped and seasoned popcorn can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 day. Do not pop the popcorn in advance and attempt to season it later, as the seasoning sticks best when the popcorn is fresh and hot.