Homemade Caramel Corn

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If you're looking for a nice homemade food gift that is cheap, easy, and makes a huge amount, I have your answer right here: Caramel Corn. I made caramel corn this past Christmas when getting together with friends. It was a huge hit. Everyone loved the buttery, sweet and crunchy treat. Be forewarned however, this caramel corn is highly addictive and it is way too easy to eat. 

Basically this recipe is just butter and brown sugar poured over popped corn. A little corn syrup, salt and vanilla help out, and then there is the baking soda that makes the whole topping foamy and fun. Try it out and you'll know what I mean. This really is one of the easiest snacks to make. I just saw a bag of gourmet popcorn at the store for about 8 bucks. Never again, not when you can do it yourself so easily and deliciously. It won't disappoint, I promise. 

Pop up some popcorn however you'd like

Then grab the butter,

the brown sugar,

and the corn syrup

Heat it all up together

Then add the baking soda and vanilla

Pour over the pop corn

Stir it all up into one sticky mess;

now you can eat it as is... 

...or spread it out onto a greased cookie sheet

and bake it up

Ready to devour

Caramel Corn
From: Our Best Bites
Ingredients

  • 12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 C white Karo syrup
  • 1/2 t salt 
  • 1 stick real butter
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1 t vanilla

Directions
Pop popcorn and place in a very large bowl; set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is nice and bubbly. 

Remove the caramel from the heat and add baking soda and vanilla, it will get all bubbly and foamy.

Pour the mixture over the popped corn and stir very well until all of the popcorn is covered. 

At this point you can leave it as is for some nice, chewy caramel corn or you can bake it up to make it nice and crunchy. For crunchy caramel corn, bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 225 degrees for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until it reaches your desired level of crunch.