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This soft caramel popcorn is so delicious, I dare you to eat just one handful. Try it on its own or add some fun mix ins!
I have a weakness for sticky, gooey, caramel popcorn. It’s perfect for cozy movie nights, game nights, or placed in a cute bag as a gift. This caramel popcorn is soft and pliable. Not the crunchy-Cracker Jack style. If you are looking for more of a crunchy-style caramel popcorn, try our Copycat Harry and David Moose Munch. This caramel popcorn recipe makes an irresistible popcorn that keeps you going back for more, more, more. It isn’t hard to make, just a few steps.
Ingredients in Caramel Popcorn
The main ingredient, of course, is popcorn. You can pop your own or you can use microwave popcorn. Butter and salt the popcorn to your taste. For the caramel sauce, you will need butter, light corn syrup, brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk.
How to Make Caramel Popcorn
Making homemade caramel popcorn only takes a few easy steps, and the taste is worth it!
Pop the popcorn – First, pop the popcorn and season it with butter and salt as you normally would. I like using fresh kernels and a popcorn popper rather than microwave popcorn because it just tastes better. Place the popcorn in a very large bowl making sure you leave room to stir.
Make the caramel– Stir together butter, corn syrup and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring the sugar mixture continually so nothing burns to the bottom. Bring caramel mixture to a boil and let it boil for 3-4 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Remove the pan from heat and stir in can of sweetened condensed milk. Once it is completely stirred in, return to heat and boil for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly.
Test the caramel– You are looking for a certain consistency called soft ball stage. To test for this, place a small drop of the hot caramel into a small bowl of cold water. Roll the caramel from the water into a ball with your hands. You want the caramel to be a soft ball that can hold its shape. This is your finished product.
Pour over popcorn– Remove from heat again, let it sit for 2 minutes, then pour over the popcorn you have already prepared and stir/toss until well coated.
Enjoy! – Eat as is or make into caramel corn balls using buttered fingers and placing the balls on a sheet of waxed paper until cool. Store in an airtight container to enjoy at a later time.
Try Some Add Ins
This is where it gets fun! If I am throwing a party or just want to get fun and creative with my popcorn I will stir in some different candies or toppings. You can stir them in when you are making the whole batch or you can separate into individual portions and let everyone make their own creation. You can also make them into balls and roll the balls into the different toppings. Get creative! Some of my favorite add ins include Mini M&Ms, chopped pretzels, nuts, chopped candy bars, sprinkles, and marshmallows.
Storing Caramel Popcorn
Store caramel popcorn in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for up to 3 weeks at room temperature. It stays fresh and delicious for you to snack on.
Tips and Suggestions
Cool your popcorn– make your sure popcorn is fully cooled before you coat it in caramel. Hot or even warm popcorn will result in soggy/chewy caramel corn.
Casserole dish– try putting half your popcorn in a large casserole dish, and pouring half the caramel mixture into there to mix. It will give you more room to mix the popcorn. It will also be more crisp if it isn’t stuck to so many other pieces.
Type of popcorn– choose the right type of popcorn. The debate of popcorn type people like is mushroom vs. butterfly. For this recipe, the best type to use is mushroom because this type of popcorn, as the name suggests, resembles a large, round, dense mushroom. It has more surface area of popcorn for the caramel sauce to adhere to. It’s just a larger, crunchier piece of popcorn.
Gifting– caramel corn makes a great gift! Whether you wrap it up in cellophane, a big glass jar, or a plastic bag, everyone loves this stuff and are grateful for a bite. Try adding in things that the person you are gifting it to loves, like a s’mores version, or a granola version, movie lovers, or dark chocolate!
More Popcorn Recipes
Can’t get enough popcorn? Try some of out other popular popcorn recipes:
White Chocolate Popcorn
Peanut Butter Popcorn
Christmas Popcorn
Moose Munch Popcorn
Homemade Kettle Corn
Caramel Popcorn Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 heavy saucepan
Ingredients
- 9 quarts popcorn buttered and salted
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup corn syrup
- 2 ¼ cups brown sugar packed
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Place the popped corn in a very large bowl, or two large bowls, leaving some room to stir. Be sure to remove all kernels.
- In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together butter, corn syrup and brown sugar.
- Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Return to heat and boil for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Test for soft ball stage by placing small drop of the hot caramel into a small bowl of cold water.
- Roll the caramel from the water into a ball with your hands and it will give you the consistency of the finished product. You want the caramel to be a soft ball that can hold its shape.
- Remove from heat again, let it sit for 2 minutes then pour over prepared popcorn and stir until well coated.
- Eat as is or make into balls using buttered fingers and placing the balls on a sheet of waxed paper until cool.
- Store in an airtight container.
