I guess this pregnancy has me really digging caramel, because I feel like I’ve been making lots of caramel-y treats lately even though I’m normally not a huge fan. Hey, there are worse things to crave! Last week I had a whole afternoon to myself and thought I’d try my hand at homemade caramel corn. I’ve made it once before, but with my mom’s help (in fact, I believe it was during the Halloween season and we munched on our homemade caramel corn while watching Halloween movies!) and lucky for me, she wrote the recipe down for me! Yay! So I got in the kitchen and whipped up this delicious caramel corn- man, oh MAN! What a TREAT! This was rich, buttery and most importantly, good ‘n crunchy! I took a big bag to work and none of us could stop munching on it! I will most definitely be making this again; probably on Halloween, in fact. A perfect snack to munch on while watching Hocus Pocus! 🙂
Caramel Corn
6 quarts popped corn (3 bags microwave popcorn- I used Tender White)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cook brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Place popcorn in a large roasting pan or spread out over two baking sheets lined with greased foil. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes for about 45 minutes. Caramel corn will be crunchy (with no sogginess) when done. Let cool and break into pieces. Makes enough to serve a large crowd- approximately 10-12 people.
Recipe source: my mom
I love caramel corn, this looks great! Can’t wait to give it a try!
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Comment by Annie — October 20, 2011 @ 9:24 PM
This looks and sounds like a deliciously sweet/salty/crunchy/festive snack! Maybe I’ll make some for our impromptu Halloween party. Thanks for the recipe!
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Comment by Maia — October 20, 2011 @ 10:33 PM
Yum!!!
Did you know October is national Caramel Month? So maybe you’re really just celebrating that!
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/10/20/breakfast-buffet-national-caramel-month/?hpt=ea_r5
Either way, pregnancy or not, it is a delicious craving/celebration!
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Comment by Lisa — October 20, 2011 @ 11:55 PM
I just had to comment and say that this pregnancy I’m craving caramel corn like crazy! I’ve never made it before but I think I’ll give yours a try sometime soon 🙂
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amy Reply:
October 22nd, 2011 at 7:37 PM
I don’t know what it is about it, but it seems us pregnant gals NEED this caramel corn! Haha!
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Comment by Heidi — October 21, 2011 @ 10:41 AM
I’m not a huge fan of caramel either, but I love homemade caramel corn. I’ll have to give this a try sometime! Thanks for the recipe.
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Comment by Rose — October 21, 2011 @ 11:48 AM
I am so making this and then watching some Halloween movies!
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amy Reply:
October 22nd, 2011 at 7:36 PM
Caramel corn and Halloween movies were meant to be! 🙂
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Comment by Shelle — October 22, 2011 @ 7:19 PM
Ohmy, I’m not the biggest popcorn fan. However this sounds yummy 🙂
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Comment by Gudbjorg — October 23, 2011 @ 11:08 PM
Hey Amy! I just made this. The steps are very simple and I was extremely hopeful for the outcome, but I found out I need some clarification.
I baked mine for up to 1 hour and 45 minutes because it never turned hard and crispy right out of the oven. Finally, I gave up and decided to take it out to see if it would harden when cooling. It did, but now it tastes a little burned.
So, my question is… should I have taken it out after the 45 minutes even though when I stirred it at that time it wasn’t hard and crispy? Would it have turned crispy while cooling at that point? I think I misread the directions and thought that it should’ve been crispy directly from the oven (not just after a few minutes of sitting.) Did this make sense?
Other than that, it’s wonderful!! lol! I’m definitely going to try making it again as soon as I get more tips from you. 🙂 (I also used dark brown sugar, should I stick to light brown?)
Thanks!!!
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amy Reply:
October 25th, 2011 at 12:08 AM
Hmm, ok. Maybe I should add in there that you should take a small amount out after 45 minutes and let it cool for a minute, then see if it’s crunchy. Really, you should be good after 45 minutes in the oven. Sorry about that!
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amy Reply:
October 25th, 2011 at 12:09 AM
Oh, and I don’t think that dark brown sugar vs. regular brown sugar would make a big difference. You should be fine there.
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Nikki (Pennies on a Platter) Reply:
October 25th, 2011 at 1:39 PM
Great! Knowing this, I think my next attempt will turn out perfectly! 🙂 Thank you!!
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amy Reply:
October 25th, 2011 at 1:59 PM
You’re welcome, Nikki! Sorry about that!
Nikki (Pennies on a Platter) Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 5:10 PM
Ummmm…let’s just say that maybe, just maybe, I incorrectly measured the amount of popcorn to caramel ratio when I first made this. Now I know why it took so long to become crispy during my first attempt! I just made it again (halved the entire recipe) and it turned out perfectly as written. Thanks, Amy!
amy Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 5:18 PM
Haha! It happens to the best of us (me, especially!)! Glad it turned out ok the second time! Hope you enjoy it!!
Comment by Nikki (Pennies on a Platter) — October 24, 2011 @ 7:10 PM
Will be trying this for sure!
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Comment by The Food Hunter — October 25, 2011 @ 11:55 AM
Hi,
This looks yummy. I want to make some for Christmas and am just wondering if using microwave popcorn that is already buttery and salty is okay? Or if air popped works better?
Thanks!
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amy Reply:
November 15th, 2011 at 10:15 AM
I used the Orville Redenbacher ‘Tender White’ variety which is slightly salted, but unbuttered and it worked perfectly.
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Comment by Jennifer Chiddenton — November 15, 2011 @ 9:45 AM
I made this and LOVED it!! The only trouble I had was being able to quickly mix all the popcorn and caramel-since there was so much I didn’t have a bowl big enough, and I had to mix in batches-which then caused the caramel to lose some of it’s puff from the baking soda. Do you have any advice on how to prevent that?
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Comment by Kayle (The Cooking Actress) — November 25, 2011 @ 2:17 PM
This is absolutely PHENOMENAL! I made a batch as a trial run for mine and hubby’s upcoming Halloween movie night and oh my goodness. We are big popcorn eaters thanks to our Whirley Pop, but I may never eat plain popcorn again. Thank you!
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amy Reply:
October 26th, 2012 at 8:18 PM
Oh yay!! So glad to hear it! Happy movie night to you and your hubby! 🙂
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Comment by Fleta — February 23, 2015 @ 12:36 AM