One of the greatest parts of the holidays is making a giant bowl caramel popcorn. It’s the ultimate party snack food and the perfect gift to share with others as it’s basically guaranteed to be thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve been meaning to share this recipe since last years holidays and for some reason (who knows why) I didn’t get around to it.
This caramel popcorn isn’t just any ordinary caramel popcorn, this is a chewy (kind of sticky), salted caramel popcorn. The sea salt in this recipe takes caramel popcorn to the next level of deliciousness, it ads a gourmet touch. I love both types of popcorn, the chewy and crunchy, but I think I favor the chewy a little bit more. It reminds me of my Grandma because she made it all the time, especially during the holidays. This is also the kind that you can shape into popcorn balls and wrap up in individual packages. It makes a huge batch, but I have the feeling you’ll be glad it does. Trust me, this stuff is unbelievably addictive. We were eating it all day long. There’s no stopping when it’s around.
Below I’ve shared instructions on how to pop popcorn in a brown paper bag. We are temporarily living in D.C. and I left my popcorn popper at our other home, so I was excited to try out this incredibly easy method. All you need it popcorn kernels and the paper lunch bags and you are minutes away from delicious popcorn that has no artificial flavoring or strange ingredients. Enjoy!
Salted Caramel Popcorn {Chewy}
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Ingredients
- 1 - 1 1/4 cups popcorn kernels , popped (use the lesser for thicker caramel coating)
- 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 2 tsp fine sea salt , or to taste, divided
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Pour popped popcorn into two large mixing bowls or 1 giant mixing bowl. In a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and 1/2 tsp of the sea salt. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Once it reaches a boil, add sweetened condesnsed milk, then return to a boil and cook mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches 236 - 238 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla then stir in 1 tsp of the fine sea salt (you can also stir in remaining 1/2 tsp sea salt or reserve to sprinkle over popcorn, whichever you prefer). Drizzle half of the caramel over popcorn then toss several times and drizzle in remaining caramel and toss, sprinkling in remaining 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) during tossing and toss popcorn until evenly coated with caramel. Allow to cool then store in airtight containers.
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Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Make It Love It
Brown Paper Bag Popcorn
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup popcorn kernels
Instructions
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Add kernels to a brown paper lunch bag. Fold top of bag down twice (about 3/4-inch folds. Do not tape or staple). Place bag in microwave and heat on HIGH power until popping begins to slow (about 2 second interval between pops), about 2 - 2 1/2 minutes depending on microwave wattage. Remove and season as desired (I recommend clarified butter and salt. For instructions on how to make clarified butter see link here).
Nicole: Do you lay it on parchment paper or anything? Or does the popcorn stay pretty separated? December 6, 2013 at 12:54pm
Jaclyn: No it doesn’t separate so if you want it separated then I would lay it out on parchment for easier separating. Hope you love it! December 6, 2013 at 3:42pm
Maureen Minora: Love the sound of this popcorn, but would like to ask how to make it more crunchy and a little less chewy…would you share? December 6, 2013 at 4:01pm
Jaclyn: By baking it after it’s been coated like this recipe here:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-crunchy-caramel-popcorn-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-187893
I would probably also cook the caramel to a higher temp. December 7, 2013 at 9:52pm
Laura @ Lauras Baking Talent: Thanks for the tip on how to do regular popcorn in the microwave. We don’t have a popper and sometimes recipes just give a measurement in cups. So this will come in handy. December 6, 2013 at 7:53pm
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious: I could munch on this all day! And that salted caramel touch is PURE genius! December 8, 2013 at 12:43am
Dru: Thanks for sharing! One question: I live abroad (in Thailand), and corn syrup is very hard to come by. I’ll experiment with your recipe, but do you have any suggestions for substituting the corn syrup for something else? What if I make a thick cane sugar syrup in advance?
Looks delicious! December 16, 2013 at 3:23am
Jaclyn: I wish I could say for sure, I’d recommend checking out this link: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/01/why-and-when-to-use-or-not-use-c/. Not sure if it will work but if it’s all you can find I’d probably try it :). December 26, 2013 at 10:40pm
Karen Mercurio: Thi is the best Carmel popcorn. I used the one cup of popcorn and it was like eating candy. I cooked my sugar mixture to firm ball stage and baked at 250 for about 40 min. It came out a little crunchy but with just a little stickiness to it. I also added some nuts. Thanks for the great recipe. December 16, 2013 at 10:00pm
Jaclyn: I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for the tips too Karen! December 17, 2013 at 10:29am
Caroline: This recipe is HEAVENLY!!!! The caramel is a perfect consistency –
Will make again for sure!!!! March 11, 2014 at 5:56am
Jaclyn: I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe Caroline! Thanks for leaving a comment! March 23, 2014 at 4:35pm
Sherry: How many cups of popcorn does the 1/4 cup make? April 23, 2014 at 9:45pm
Rebeca Smith: 1/4 cup unzipped corn makes 6 cups popped. August 6, 2014 at 11:21am
Heather: I’m not sure I understand how much popcorn you used. How many cups of POPPED corn do I use? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just don’t want the ratio of popped corn to caramel to be off! I like mine nice and chewy too! :) October 7, 2014 at 1:25am
Jaclyn: Sorry I don’t know how many cups it is popped, I only measured by the kernels before popping because that always seems to be a more accurate measurement plus then I don’t have to sit there and measure out 15 cups or whatever it is. Sorry when I make it again I will try to remember to measure. November 4, 2014 at 10:52pm
Amanda: Hi – this recipe looks amazing! I’m wondering how sticky it ends up being? I know it’s supposed to stay soft rather than crunchy (yay!), but I’m wondering if the sauce will also stay wet/sticky, or if once it dries it’s just slightly tacky . . . I may not be asking this very well – sorry! November 12, 2015 at 8:17am