Grandma’s Caramel Corn
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Grandma’s Caramel Corn is a perfect homemade snack that will feed a crowd. The homemade, buttery caramel sauce makes this caramel corn recipe the best. Trust us when we say that one handful – or two or three – of this sweet treat will not be enough.
Grandma’s Caramel Corn
What’s better than regular old popcorn? Popcorn that is slathered with a homemade buttery caramel sauce. This was Grandma’s recipe, and it won’t disappoint. Barbara made it as a snack to take to a party, and it was one of those bowls that you couldn’t walk by without grabbing a handful.
Barbara fully admits that she is not a master of popping popcorn on the stove. What does a 32-year-old do when she needs popcorn for a recipe? Call Mom, of course. Thirty minutes later, she picked up the popcorn all ready to go. Thanks Mom!
This is also a great recipe to pull out at the holidays as a gift for teachers, landlords, neighbors, and family.
How to Make Grandma’s Caramel Corn
Scroll to the bottom of the post for the complete recipe.
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan, and then add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly. Continue to allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes without stirring it. Remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. Pour over the popcorn and mix. Spread the popcorn mixture onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for an hour in 250-degree oven, stir every 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.
Why Baking Soda?
Wondering why we add baking soda to the caramel mixture? It reacts with the brown sugar and corn syrup to help create a softer texture to the caramel corn.
Try our Caramel Puff Corn recipe if you are a fan of the store-bought puffed corn in the chip aisle!
Grandma’s Caramel Corn
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup light or dark will work
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 quarts popped popcorn
Instructions
- In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter and then add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil for 5 minutes, without stirring.
- Remove from heat; add baking soda and vanilla.
- Pour over popcorn and mix well.
- Pour into a shallow pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (cookie sheet pan works great).
- Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Let cool before eating.
