Many years ago, I was given some Caramel Popcorn by my beloved teacher’s assistant, Mrs. Pepper. She always came bearing gifts for my family during the holidays whether they were baked or sewn with love. She was truly a remarkable lady. The first time I tasted it was when it was given to me as an edible Christmas gift. Needless to say, it didn’t last long with 3 boys in the house so I asked for the recipe. It requires minimal effort and ingredients.
Popcorn:
Pop at least 12 cups of popcorn using either a hot air popper or microwave. Do not add salt or butter! Set it in a large enough bowl to stir in the syrup mixture or use a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet.
Syrup Coating:
Over LOW heat, melt butter with corn syrup and brown sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in baking soda, salt and vanilla. It will foam up a bit as you stir.
Mix it up! :
Drizzle syrup mixture over popcorn and stir until its distributed evenly over the popcorn.
Bake:
Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring mixture every 15 minutes.
Allow mixture to cool slightly. You may break up any clumps gently. Store the Caramel Popcorn in a sealed container or large Ziploc bag. This would be a perfect gift to share with family friends. What’s better than watching movies and eating popcorn?
Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 12 c freshly popped popcorn, unsalted
- 1/2 c butter
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1/4 c dark corn syrup
- 1/4 t baking soda
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 t vanilla
Instructions
- Pop at least 12 cups of popcorn in an air popper or the microwave. DO NOT add salt or butter! Place it in a bowl large enough to stir in the syrup mixture for coating or place it on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet. You may also put it in a prepared baking dish large enough to hold the 12 cups of popcorn and mix it all up from there.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter with the brown( light or dark) sugar and dark corn syrup over LOW heat. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; remove from the heat and whisk in the baking soda, salt and vanilla. It will become foamy.
- Drizzle over the popcorn and stir to coat as evenly as possible.
- Bake at 250°F for 45 minutes, stirring at 15 minute intervals.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Break up any big clumps and store in sealed container or large Ziploc bags.
