Best Caramel Popcorn Recipe
Who makes their own caramel popcorn? Me, of course. And you will too once you try this homemade caramel popcorn recipe.
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Trust me. It’s got butter and sugar in it 😉
If you’ve only had store bought caramel popcorn and you’ve never had homemade caramel popcorn you’re in for a delicious treat.
The original recipe calls for a cup of butter, but I’ve reduced it to half a cup.
NOOOOOO! Blasphemy. I know. BUT I assure you it’s not because I’m worried about calories. I have tried both ways and you won’t taste a difference. Save the calories for even more delicious food.
Melt the butter in a very big pan. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Mix until combined.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for approximately 3 to 4 minutes. I like to stir minimally. DO NOT take your eye off the mixture. You are making the caramel and do not want it to burn. You want to get this beautiful “caramel” brown color.
Take the pan off the heat. Add the baking soda and vanilla extract. Stir. The caramel will expand a bit and get foamy.
Now add the popcorn to the pan and stir until all kernels are bathed in some caramel. Another option is to pour the sauce over the popcorn already on the baking pans, but I find this way easiest.
Once completely coated divide the caramel popcorn onto tin trays or baking sheets. You want them to be spread out.
Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Stir and break up clumps every 15 minutes. If you like your caramel popcorn crunchy go for a full hour. If you like it chewier bake for less time. I like to take a kernel out every time I check the caramel popcorn, for quality assurance of course. The caramel popcorn will get a little crunchier once it cools.
Take the caramel popcorn out of the oven. Break up any remaining clumps. Allow to cool. Enjoy!
Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.com
½ cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup corn syrup
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn (20 cups)
1) Heat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Off the corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Stir to combine.
2) Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Let boil for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, stirring minimally.
3) Take the pan off the heat. Add the baking soda and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add the popped popcorn and stir to cover all the popcorn in caramel sauce.
4) Spread popcorn in thin layer onto un-greased baking sheets. Bake 45 minutes. Break clumps and stir popcorn every 15 minutes to break up clumps. Bake for less time for a chewier popcorn and longer for a crunchier popcorn. Allow to cool.
You can also add nuts to your homemade caramel popcorn. One time I even added in pieces of bacon.
Caramel popcorn makes a cheap gift bag idea for favors, holidays, and everyday snacking.
This looks amazing , I must try it! Saving it to my pinterest board.
It’s very easy and love that I almost always have most of the ingredients at home. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Oh my god….i never thought of doing something like this. Devine!!!!