I made my first batch of Caramel Corn several months ago for Girls’ Night. Then I made some again for the holidays. Then I got hooked and have made several more batches. I can’t help myself its delicious. I’ve tried trimming this recipe down several times with less butter and sugar but its never as good and frequently results in the popcorn getting a bit burnt due the lack of buttery goodness; dry popcorn pieces in the oven for 45 minutes = not tasty. So after much testing, this is what I arrived at. Its tasty! I typically use 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn since there’s extra buttery sugary goodness that gets poured all over it. Makes me feel not so guilty
The super bowl is coming up which is the perfect excuse to whip up a batch of this popcorn! So go get busy!
Caramel Popcorn
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 bags microwave popped popcorn (~12 cups)
Preheat oven to 250°F . Place freshly popped popcorn in a very large bowl.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
Source: Adapted from Good Things Catered