Sit back and snack on everyone’s favorite sweet and crunchy treat with a recipe for Easy Homemade Caramel Corn.
My mom and grandmother declare every holiday as the perfect excuse to send me my favorite treat—a tri-colored assortment of butter, cheddar and caramel popcorn from my best buddies over at The Popcorn Factory.
Since I polished off my latest tin weeks ago, and the next holiday shipment is way too far away, this kernel-crazed aficionado has resorted to making her own.
Few foods are as satisfying to crunch into as homemade caramel corn. That sticky, chewy, crispy bite satisfies like no other sweet and salty snack.
With a 10-minute prep time, and endless mix-in options, going the DIY route is much easier than you might think!
Homemade caramel corn begins with freshly popped kernels that are then tossed in a quick-fix combination of butter and sugar. But to really achieve the classic caramel corn consistency, the coated kernels are then baked until slightly crispy.
Serve this sweet and salty treat in bowls or go the extra accessible step and make parchment paper cones for finger-friendly snacking year-round.
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Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup unpopped popcorn
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Grease two baking sheets with cooking spray.
- Add the vegetable oil to a large stockpot set over medium heat.
- Add the popcorn to the pot and cover it. Once you hear the first kernel pop, remove the pot from the heat for one minute. Return the covered pot to the heat, shaking it over the flame until all of the kernels have popped. Discard any unpopped kernels.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, then allow the mixture to boil, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the baking soda.
- Immediately pour the caramel over the popcorn, stirring to coat the kernels.
- Transfer the coated popcorn onto the baking sheets, spreading it out into an even layer.
- Bake the popcorn for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Remove the caramel corn from the oven and stir it one more time before allowing it to cool completely. Break it into pieces and serve.
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Nutrition
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Satisfies my craving for something crunchy and sweet!!! Not hard to make but
kitchen is a mess….
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Janet!
What changes need to be made at an elevation of 6,181?
Hi Karen! Since there is such a small amount of baking soda in this recipe, you shouldn’t have to make any adjustments. Enjoy!
The recipe was easy to make, and it was wonderful! Anybody can make this recipe I have made caramel popcorn in the past and by far this one is the best thank you so much, Cathy
So glad you enjoyed it, Cathy!
I am reading the recipe as no matter how big you make the batch of popcorn it says 2 sticks of butter!
If you make a single batch, it says two sticks if you make a double batch, it says two sticks. If you triple the batch, it says two sticks that’s not making any sense to me. Could you please explain it thank you in advance.
Hi Sally! Apologies for this. It’s a known glitch on the site and we’re working through all recipes that reference “sticks” and translating them into cups. Updating this one now!
Always turns out great!
So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Vickie!
About how many cups of popcorn do you use? Thank you!
Hi Lori! It’s about 6 quarts of popcorn, or roughly 24 loosely packed cups. Hope that helps!