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Caramel Corn - Noshing With the Nolands

By Tara Noland on April 27, 2023 | Updated September 6, 2023 | 2 Comments

Crunchy, buttery, sweet, and satisfying, Caramel Corn has it all. This nostalgic candy treat is loved by young and old and is an easy treat to make up for any occasion. You can also give some as a gift at any time of the year! Who doesn’t love popcorn?

Want more popcorn treats? Try our healthy savory popcorn with this Olive Oil Popcorn (Garlic and Rosemary) recipe or our sweet and satisfying Peanut Butter Popcorn or a combination of both with our Homemade Chex Mix with Caramel Corn.

When standing at the popcorn stand in the mall, which one do you pick? Buttered popcorn, cheese, Caramel Corn, or another flavor?

Well, for me, I love a good buttered popcorn, but I save that for the theater. Cheese corn is great, too, but I can get that in a bag. The one I adore is Caramel Corn, and probably the one we make most if we are making one from scratch. Popcorn is addictive with that sweet caramel; you can’t just have one HANDFUL!!!

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Foil Oval Roaster Pans, 2ct

Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popcorn Kernels

Unbleached Parchment Paper Roll for Baking

Homemade caramel corn is easy to make, knowing a few tips and tricks ahead of time. See our Pro Tips below!! The ingredients just have to be of great quality and freshness. Don’t try to use old kernels, old cream of tartar, or baking soda; you will end up with subpar results. I like to serve popcorn at gatherings; it is a great make-ahead dish and something that everyone loves. People get excited about seeing homemade popcorn.

For the popcorn, I always use Orville Redenbacher. I get the most success with it and have very few unpopped kernels at the end, plus big fluffy popcorn.

I used a disposable turkey roaster pan to make the caramel corn recipe.

Plain Popped Popcorn – use good quality popcorn. A scant 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels should get you close to 14 cups, depending on the brand.

Butter – use good butter, as this is an essential ingredient.

Brown Sugar, brown and light – you can use just one type of brown sugar or a combination of both.

Light Corn Syrup – it really does make the best caramel popcorn.

Salt – table salt works well.

Vanilla Extract – use the good stuff, not artificial vanilla extract; this is optional.

Baking Soda – fresh baking soda will give you the best caramel.

Cream of Tartar – helps to stop the caramel from crystallizing.

Making homemade caramel popcorn is not hard but does take some time to make sure that you coat all of the popcorn and that it is crunchy and not chewy. This is done in a slow oven for about an hour. Let’s dig in!!

Preheat oven to 225F. Spray a large roasting pan with cooking spray.

Place popped popcorn in the roasting pan.

In a large saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and cream of tartar to a boil, stirring constantly.

Let boil for 5 min. on medium heat without stirring.

Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda.

Pour over the popcorn and stir to coat.

Place the pan in the oven.

Stir every 15 min. so that the mixture does not burn. Bake for 1 hour. Stir well at the end.

Remove from the pan and let cool completely on parchment paper. Store in Ziploc bags or sealed containers. Yum!!

We make caramel corn all the time. Well, actually, Ken makes it, he is really good and patient with hot, gooey candy, and he did an amazing job with this popcorn!!!

Use caution when working with hot caramel sauce! It burns your skin easily!

Unlike regular popcorn, kettle corn is cooked with sugar and can be salted too. The sugar, when heated, melts and coats the popping kernels making the popcorn sweet, and then the salt is added after so you get sweet and salty. Kettle corn has a thinner coating on popcorn than caramel corn. It is made in large cast iron vessels at country fairs. Kettle corn can be made with both white and brown sugar. Using brown sugar gives it more flavor, tasting like caramel corn.

Caramel corn is made by combining sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a pot over low heat, and as you see in the above recipe, it is then baked in a low oven to completely coat the popcorn.

Do you love popcorn treats? Here are more of our favorites.

Crunchy sweet delicious caramel corn brings you back to your childhood!! This treat is great to serve for any occasion and also makes a great homemade gift.

See the post for important tips and tricks when dealing with hot caramel.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Recipe calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

posted in: Candy, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegetarian

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This book sounds so cool! I love caramel corn and know homemade would be dangerously addictive!

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Caramel Corn - Noshing With the Nolands

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