The Absolute Best Caramel Corn Ever
Our recent obsession with creating crazy varieties of popcorn started when Alexis got her paws on a bag of mixed popcorn. I thought she would destroy the cheese-flavored bits.
I was wrong.
She went after the caramel corn.
MY. CARAMEL. CORN.
I have a long-standing love affair with caramel corn and had no intentions of sharing it. None. Sadly, it turns out that taking caramel corn away from a six-year-old is a lot harder than taking candy from a baby. The only solution was to make caramel corn from scratch and to make a lot of it. Since we needed to send in treats for Alexis' school Valentines party later in the week, I figured we'd combine my needs with her needs and blah, blah, blah.
Caramel corn happened.
It's crazy easy to make and has a pretty good shelf life. If you bag it and freeze it, it'll hold for months. Just placing it in an airtight container will be enough to make it stay fresh for at least a week. It might hold even longer than that, but we've never managed to have a batch last longer than a week.
This recipe makes a caramel corn that is very similar to the stuff you buy in big bags in the chip aisle at the grocery store. The main difference is that you're in charge, so if you want to make it lower in calories, you can. Just increase the amount of popcorn and make a caramel corn that isn't thoroughly coated. Want it extra sweet? You can do that, too. Happiness is the mission. (Added bonus: You'll be able to pronounce all of the ingredients.)
To make the caramel corn, start by making your popcorn and set it aside. I don't care how you do it--microwave, stove top, etc. It's all good.
You'll continue by melting two sticks of butter in a saucepan.
Add 1/2 cup of light corn syrup.
And two cups of brown sugar. You can use either light or dark brown sugar. The only difference will be the color of your caramel corn.
Add a teaspoon of salt.
And stir and cook until your caramel begins to boil.
Let it boil for about five minutes. It will magically turn into caramel.
And now comes the only tricky part of this whole process. You're going to add a teaspoon of baking soda, but you need to be ready to pour your caramel before you do it. The baking soda causes the caramel to "foof up." Sorry, I don't have better words to describe what happens. I just know that the caramel will suddenly expand and it'll spill out of your saucepan if you aren't prepared for it.
See how it turned lighter? And all bubbly? It's pretty cool.
Pour the caramel over your prepared popcorn.
Stir it up (I use a wooden spoon--the caramel doesn't stick to it.).
Then you'll pour all of the caramel corn into a large pan and pop it in the oven for an hour.
Tah-dah!
If you love caramel corn, you'll love it. Promise.
Oh, and if you are extra brave, make a batch of Red Hot Popcorn and mix them together.
They compliment each other PERFECTLY. I should know, I just finished off that whole bowl. ::grin::
Caramel Corn
8 quarts popcorn
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1. Place the popcorn in a large heat safe bowl. (I had to use two bowls since I still don't have one large enough to hold 8 quarts of popcorn.)
2. Combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and allow to boil for about five minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Stir quickly to combine and immediately pour over the popcorn.
4. Stir, toss, stir, and toss until the popcorn is evenly coated.
5. Pour the caramel corn into a large oven-safe pan and spread it out.
6. Bake at 200 degrees for one hour, stirring occasionally to break up any large clumps.
7. Try to let it cool before you eat it. If you succeed, you're a better human than I am.
Recipe
Reader Comments (10)
Thank you!!!
I've been looking for a good caramel corn recipe for ages!
Mmmmm. Saving.
And if you are lazy or just don't like the seeds of popcorn you can use puffcorn. It is a little extra amazing this way b/c the puffcorn is buttery and salty. But it probably does have a whole lot of words in it ...
I make this recipe using the hulless "puffcorn". Makes it even better.
gaaaaaaaah! the size of my ass did not need to know how easy this is. i refuse to buy baking soda so that i can't foof it up and therefore won't make.
I had no idea how to make caramel popcorn from scratch. It looks so delicious. I can't wait to try this recipe.
Caramel popcorn is one of my all time favorites (and I have been making it for years, since my aunt shared with me her recipe) It is quite similar to yours- aside from the addition of some vanilla.
@M - I have tried pouring melted butter over freshly popped popcorn (via the paper bag technique), but the butter always "wilts" the popcorn and makes it super soft and mushy.
(1) What am I doing wrong? and (2) How can I avoid that from happening with the caramel?
we tried this tonight...only I didn't remove it from the heat when I added the baking soda. It didn't "poof" all that much and it smells like it burnt. :-( I mixed it up anyway and stuck it in the oven. My kiddos are SUPER excited to try it, so hoping it's okay!
Oooo..... The two together sounds awesome!!!