Appetizers/ Desserts

Baked Caramel Popcorn

 

I love this recipe so much. But I rarely make it, because I can’t stop eating it. I have zero self control when it comes to caramel-y, butter-y desserts. Throw in some brown sugar, and all hope is lost.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it), the last time I made this, I didn’t get to enjoy it, because the pan exploded when I took it out of the oven (see pic below)! And while I had made 2 pans, and only one exploded, the un-exploded (is that a word?) one was sitting right next to it. Truth be told, I did have a few handfuls, until hubby told me that I should be careful. And then I was paranoid and couldn’t sleep all night because I was sure I was going to be brought to the ER in the middle of the night with a bleeding stomach from eating ground glass (it happened on a TV show I watched once, so it must be true right?).

In any case, this stuff is to die for, even if it is a little time-consuming. Adjust cooking time depending on how gooey you like your caramel popcorn. If you cook it the full time, it will be melt in your mouth crunchy. Mmmm…

The not so fortunate dish :(:

Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com.

 

Baked Caramel Popcorn

Author: The Gourmet Housewife

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup corn syrup
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 20 cups popped popcorn

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 250°F. Place popcorn in a very large bowl. Grease two large, shallow baking dishes and set aside.
  • 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 prepared baking dishes. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

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4 Comments

  • Reply
    Wendy
    November 21, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    If you like baked caramel popcorn, be sure to try this poppycock, I can’t stop eating it either:

    Christmas Poppycock

    Yield: 20 servings
    Preparation time: 20 minutes
    Total time: 30 minutes

    1/2 cup pecan halves
    1 cup blanched almonds
    8 cup popped popcorn
    1 1/3 cup brown sugar
    1 cup butter
    1/2 cup corn syrup
    1/2 tsp cream of tartar
    1/2 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp rum flavoring

    Preheat oven to 300F. Be sure to let oven heat up before putting in nuts. Spread pecans and almonds on cookie sheet and toast lightly (about 8 – 10 minutes). Cool. Mix with popcorn in a very large buttered bowl.

    Combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, and cream of tartar in a small heavy saucepan. Cook until mixture forms a hard ball when dropped into cold water (252¡F on candy thermometer), about 5 minutes.

    Remove from heat, stir in soda, and then the rum flavoring. Pour over popcorn and nuts. Mix with 2 buttered forks so popcorn and nuts are coated. Turn out on a large buttered cookie sheet and press into an even layer with back of a large spoon. Cool until hard, then break up to serve.

    • Reply
      The Gourmet Housewife
      November 21, 2011 at 2:52 pm

      That sounds delicious Wendy! I’m going to give it a try next time! Thanks for sharing!!

      • Reply
        Wendy
        November 21, 2011 at 6:43 pm

        Just make sure you have someone to share it with. Just sayin’…

        • Reply
          The Gourmet Housewife
          November 21, 2011 at 8:47 pm

          Haha, will do!

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