Caramel Corn

I absolutely love popcorn. It’s such a great little snack. Caramel corn is even better. And I love every excuse I can come up with to use my candy thermometer (now that I have one).

I made this caramel corn for a football party over at a friend’s house. I popped the popcorn at home and then made it into caramel corn once we got there. It smelled amazing while it was baking and I’m not the only one who burnt my tongue because I was too impatient to wait for it to cool down after it came out of the oven.

I went ahead and threw in the optional peanuts. I liked the additional saltiness and crunch that they provided. When I make this again, I’ll probably even throw a bit more in.

This caramel corn would also make a great homemade gift since it keeps very well. How excited would you be if you got some homemade caramel corn for the holidays?

One Year Ago: Chocolate Mousse and Eggplant Parmesan
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Snowballs and Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

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Caramel Corn

Yield: 8-12

Ingredients:

15 cups popped corn (9 tablespoons kernels, popped)
2 Tbsp molasses
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 200°F and line a half-sheet pan (18" x 13" pan) with parchment paper. Pour the popped corn into a large bowl, at least 6 quarts, and set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat bring the molasses, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Stir well as the mixture turns foamy.

Immediately (and carefully) pour the hot syrup over the popped corn and stir until the corn is well coated.

Spread the hot caramel corn into the parchment-lined pan. Bake at 200°F for one hour. Stir the corn every 15 minutes during this time.

Remove from the oven. This caramel corn is a warm, sticky, sweet and crunchy treat straight from the oven. It can also be cooled and stored airtight for several days. This recipe doubles and triples very well.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

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13 Responses to “Best Dang Thing EVER Bars”

  1. #
    1
    HoneyB — September 9, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    This is a great post and I love that you and your sister made these together! You know its a favorite when you can make a recipe from memory! Thanks for participating 🙂

  2. #
    2
    Laura — September 9, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Awesome bars! You and your sister sound like me and my sister, so I loved this post extra for that. Great submission, thanks for participating.

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    3
    Colleen — September 9, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    Yum, these look SO good! And fairly easy – I will be making them soon!

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    4
    stephchows — September 9, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    Love the story that goes with these 🙂 family recipes are the best!

  5. #
    5
    Katie — September 9, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    OH YUM!! Those look so freakign gooooood!!

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    6
    The American Homemaker — September 9, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    Those look great!!!!!!!!!! MMmmmmm

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    7
    Ingrid — September 9, 2009 at 8:01 pm

    I suppose if you were fond of chocolate they would be the best dang thing. I’d like the blonde version of this instead. 🙂

    You almost make me wish I had a sister instead of six brothers, almost. 🙂
    ~ingrid

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    8
    Sara @ Our Best Bites — September 10, 2009 at 3:46 am

    oh my neighbor makes these and they are SO good! Mmmm I’m wishing I had one right about now, thanks for sharing the recipe!

    (also glad you enjoyed the taquitos!)

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    9
    Justin — September 11, 2009 at 12:07 am

    whoa, a whole pack of caramels? this sounds amazing

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    madebymel — September 11, 2009 at 12:46 am

    Oh.my.gosh! I bet these really are the best dang thing ever! I can’t wait to make these to bring to work!

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    11
    Karen - Mommy to four sweeties — September 18, 2009 at 7:09 pm

    I wonder if these can be made with a plain chocolate cake mix since I don’t have a german chocolate one on hand.

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    12
    Jen — September 20, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    I would think any chocolate cake mix would work

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    13
    fun size wife — February 25, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    These are close to the Pioneer Woman’s Knock You Naked Brownies except for the frosting. Thank goodness chocolate and caramel are legal!

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