Caramel Corn

This easy homemade caramel corn is perfectly crisp, salty-sweet, and made with simple pantry staples — no candy thermometer required!

⏱️ 55 min 🔪 Prep: 10 min 🔥 Cook: 45 min 📊 Medium 👁️ 18 views
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Caramel CornFoto: Gimme Some Oven — Ali

Ingredients

10 servings
  • 10 cups popped popcorn (about ½ cup unpopped kernels), plain and unsalted
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • optional: flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Steps

  1. Heat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper. Spread the popped popcorn out in an even layer and remove any unpopped kernels.

  2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir until combined, then bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Once bubbling, cook without stirring for 4–5 minutes until the caramel is smooth and slightly thickened.

  3. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vanilla and baking soda. (The mixture will foam up — this is normal and helps create crisp caramel corn!)

  4. Quickly pour the caramel evenly over the popcorn. Use a silicone spatula to gently toss until as evenly coated as possible.

  5. Transfer the popcorn to the oven and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to help it crisp and coat evenly.

  6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt if you’d like. Let the caramel corn cool completely, then break into pieces.

  7. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to 1–2 weeks.

Source: Gimme Some Oven by Ali

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