WARNING: You will not be able to stop eating this caramel corn! I made it for Christmas one year, and my parents, husband and I quickly became addicted to it. Honestly, we couldn’t put it down. I made a big batch for a friend’s movie-themed birthday party this past weekend, and I’m bring the rest into my office today to get it out of my house! Cannot. Stop. Eating. Caramel. Corn. Send help!
Homemade Caramel Corn
Yield: 8 cups (6-8 servings? Really like one serving the way I devour it!)
Time: 10 minutes prep, 60 minutes baking, 30+ minutes cooling.
1 cup butter, cut into cubes
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. baking soda
8 cups popped popcorn
- Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Set aside.
- The most tedious and time consuming part of this recipe is this first step, but don’t skip it! I’ve made the mistake in the past and regretted it. There’s nothing pleasant about biting into a rock-hard popcorn kernel and praying you didn’t chip a tooth. Separate the popped popcorn from the unpopped kernels. Discard the kernels. Spread the popcorn out on the prepared large baking sheet. (Or use two baking sheets–you want as thin a layer as possible of popcorn to maximize the coverage with caramel!)
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup until melted, stirring frequently.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Pour over the popped popcorn (with kernels removed!) and stir gently to coat evenly.
- Bake at 200ºF for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes to redistribute the caramel.
- Allow to cool to room temperature (at least 30 minutes) before breaking the clumps into smaller pieces. Enjoy!
janis cakes 