The heavy heat and humidity have finally lifted in Georgia and FALL IS HERE! Perfect weather for fall festivals, football games, and just hanging out with friends and family.  Regardless of what you do, chances are, food is a big part of the fun.  One of my favorite snacks is Caramel Popcorn. The perfect salty-sweet treat! It is easy to make, fun to eat, and feeds a crowd.

While you can use microwave popcorn to make this treat, I strongly recommend that you make the popcorn on the stove.

Once you start making popcorn like this, you will never go back to the microwave bagged versions.

IT SIMPLY TASTES BETTER.  INFINITELY BETTER.

Popcorn popped on the stove is a healthier alternative with no residual chemical taste or excessive salt.  You will be super surprised how easy and absolutely delicious it is.

With 3 simple ingredients (popcorn, oil, and salt) and 5-7 minutes, you have a bowl full of light, fluffy, delicious popcorn. To make the caramel corn, you will need a large 4 quart saucepan, a small 2 quart saucepan, and a roasting pan because the caramel is so sticky. I usually purchase a large disposable roasting pan from the Dollar Store or Walmart so I can throw it away after using.

After you pop the corn, you will need to transfer it to the roasting pan.  Be careful not to add  “the duds,” un-popped kernels to the roasting pan. (If you do, you will be sure to break a tooth on the kernels).

After the popcorn is popped, you can start the caramel process. Add your ingredients to the saucepan.  Be sure to stay with it and stir every few minutes.  This is hard for me as I tend to get a little ADD when I’m in the kitchen.  The sugar-butter mixture will turn into caramel after a few minutes of cooking.

Tip:  Boil mixture for 5 minutes and cook until the caramel mixture has a thick, “elastic-like” stream from the spoon. Stirring constantly. (See picture)

Caramel Popcorn is a great sweet treat year round.  The fun part about this recipe is that you can add various items to the popcorn to match the season and your taste. Some good choices of “add-ons” are candy corn, M&M’s, melted chocolate, and nuts.  The batch pictured has fall colored M&M’s in them. Which is great for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Around Christmas, I add red and green M&M’s.

During football season, you can add M& M’s in your favorite teams colors for a great tail-gating snack.

Another great way to enjoy the popcorn is by adding a cup or so of mixed nuts. If you choose to add nuts (which is my very favorite), add the nuts halfway through the cooking process.  This will allow the nuts to be coated by the caramel but not overcooking the nuts.

When the caramel corn is out of the oven and cooling on the wax paper, you can also drizzle melted chocolate over the popcorn. With or without chocolate, and with or without nuts or candy, this Caramel Popcorn is always delicious and always a crowd favorite. Enjoy.

Print

Caramel Popcorn

Cook Time

1 hr 15 mins

Total Time

1 hr 15 mins

 

Ingredients

• 16 c popped corn
• 1 c butter, salted
• 2 c light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 c light corn syrup (Karo)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, pure
• 1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

Stovetop Popcorn

1. On medium-high heat, heat 1/4 cup Vegetable oil in large saucepan

2. Add 1 cup of popcorn kernels

3. Add 1/2 tsp salt

4. Put lid on pan and cook on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes or until corn stops popping. If popcorn overflows, simply remove the lid and tip the excess popcorn into a bowl. Return the lid and return the popcorn to the heat until popping slows.

5. Remove from heat

6. Transfer popcorn to roasting pan (discarding un-popped kernels)

Caramel Popcorn

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vanilla and baking soda.

4. Slowly pour the hot caramel mixture over the popcorn, tossing to coat.

5. Transfer to two 9×13 pans or one large roasting pan and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

6. Add chocolate candy and stir well (optional).

7. Spread on wax paper until cool and dry.

Recipe Notes

If you want to add nuts, add nuts to caramel corn half way through baking process.  You do not want to overcook the nuts, but you want them to be thoroughly coated with caramel.

Also, if you want to add melted chocolate to the caramel corn, drizzle chocolate on the popcorn as it is cooling on the wax paper.