Classic Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients

• 12 cupspopped popcorn (about 1/2 cup unpopped kernels), unsalted
• 1 cupunsalted butter
• 2 cupspacked brown sugar
• 1/2 cuplight corn syrup
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspbaking soda
• 1 tspvanilla extract

Nutrition / serving

No nutrition data for this recipe — tap Nutrition in Ask Chef AI above for an estimate.

Method

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread the popped popcorn in a large roasting pan or two rimmed baking sheets, picking out any unpopped kernels.

2. 2

   In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

3. 3

   Once boiling, stop stirring and let it boil undisturbed for 4 minutes, until it reaches about 250°F (firm-ball stage) on a candy thermometer.

   ⏱Start 4:00
4. 4

   Remove from heat and carefully stir in the baking soda and vanilla — the mixture will foam up dramatically; this reaction is what makes the coating light and crisp rather than dense.

5. 5

   Immediately pour the hot caramel over the popcorn and toss quickly with two spatulas or spoons until the popcorn is evenly coated.

6. 6

   Bake 1 hour, stirring/tossing the popcorn every 15 minutes to keep it from clumping and to crisp it evenly.

   ⏱Start 1:00:00⏱Start 15:00
7. 7

   Spread the caramel corn on parchment or wax paper to cool completely and crisp up before breaking apart and serving or storing airtight.