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We love popcorn around here. Easy homemade salted caramel popcorn is not only a great treat, but it’s so versatile. I am in love with caramel popcorn, so I decided I’d whip some up this weekend and add a few little treats.
This is a simple and easy homemade recipe that takes less than an hour to make. It’s delicious. The only problem is that it’s so good, it’s hard to keep everyone out of it.
The recipe makes a great gift for teachers, Valentine’s Day treats, or any holiday, and a very inexpensive snack for the big game at your house. You can even make it for the kid’s game day, and if it’s your week to be snack mom, you can put it into Ziplocks and hand it out to the team.
Step 1: Pop the popcorn and set aside.
Step 2: Add the butter, brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup to the saucepan, and mix it up over medium heat.
Step 3: Once it starts boiling, set the timer for 4 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove it from the heat when the timer buzzes.
Step 4: Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir the popcorn until it’s coated.
Step 5: Lay the popcorn out on a tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt. (Whatever you do, do not use wax paper. It will stick to the popcorn and you will never get it off – I speak from sad experience).
The next step is optional. If you decide to skip it, the caramel will be stickier and chewier, but still taste as yummy. If you bake it, the caramel will harden and taste just as amazing.
Step 6: Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn the popcorn a couple of times while baking. If not, that is ok, but the caramel will pool at the bottom. You can see that some of mine did, and it’s ok.
Let it cool and serve! You can add things like sprinkles, M&Ms, conversation hearts, or whatever sounds good. You can even add peanuts and make it a bit more of a Cracker Jack treat.
Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Popcorn in Less than an Hour
Easy homemade salted caramel popcorn is not only a great treat, but it's so versatile.
Ingredients
Popcorn
- 1/2 cup kernels
Caramel
- 2 sticks butter
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. salt (divided)
Instructions
- Pop the popcorn, place into a large bowl, and set aside.
- Line a cookie pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 300-degrees.
Caramel
- Add the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and 1 tsp. salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Boil for 4 minutes.
- Pour over popcorn and stir until the popcorn is completely coated with caramel.
- Lay the popcorn out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with the remaining salt.
- Bake for 30-minutes and cool.
- Add treats, such as M&Ms, or conversation hearts, and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 132Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 311mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 13gProtein: 0g
Nutrition is approximate.