Caramel Corn

For my family, it's just not the 4th of July without CARAMEL CORN!! So, of course that's what I made this afternoon! There are lots of different ways to make caramel corn - some people (Hubby & his family) like the sticky, gooey stuff that sticks to your teeth - I'm more of a Cracker Jack crunchy caramel corn sort of a girl! That's what this one is - sweet, crunchy deliciousness!!

I didn't get a pic of my ingredients so I'll just list them out:

Popcorn, brown sugar, Karo, salt, margarine, baking soda & vanilla.

First step is to pop your popcorn! Leave it plain - just air pop it. Then split it into 2 pans that have been sprayed with PAM. Set it aside while you make the caramel mixture.


In a medium sauce pan combine the sugar, Karo, margarine & salt. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once it boils stir it continually for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes are up add baking soda & vanilla. Then immediately pour it over the popcorn. Just eyeball it - half & half between your 2 pans.


Give it all a good stir to spread the caramel around. Don't worry too much about getting it even - you'll be stirring it a few times & the caramel will get spread around pretty well.

Now pop those babies into an oven, set to 250. Let them go for 45 minutes, stirring at 15-minute intervals.

(Notice there's a lot of white popcorn in there - not overly stirred - no biggie!)

Once the 45 minutes are up (& you've stirred it at minute 15, 30 & 45) spread it onto a wax paper-covered counter top & break the chunks up with a wooden spoon. Let it cool completely. Notice how the caramel is now spread over it all!? Perfect!


Then load it all up into your ziplock bags or whatever air-tight container you have laying around. Mmmmmm.......

This recipe fills up 2 gallon-sized ziplock bags. Who's ready for some fireworks!!!??

Caramel Corn:

1 cup of popcorn kernels, air popped
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light Karo syrup
1 tsp salt
1 cup margarine
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Place the popped popcorn into 2 shallow greased baking pans. You can use roasting pans, glass cake pans or even those foil disposable pans.

Preheat the oven to 250. Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine & salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda & vanilla. The mixture will be light & foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the prepared pans & stir to coat. Don't worry too much, at this point, about getting all the popcorn coated.

Bake for 45 minutes, removing the pans & giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter with wax paper. Dump the corn onto the paper & separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely. Store in air-tight containers or resealable plastic bags.