This caramel corn is sweet, sticky, and so delicious! A great recipe for a movie night, party, or just because. This buttery caramel corn is a great recipe for a crowd.

There are different ways to enjoy caramel. Whether it is crunchy, tacky, or gooey. This recipe for caramel corn stays nice and chewy, even when cooled. It is a quick and easy treat to enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Caramel Corn Recipe

My recipe for the party is a caramel corn recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook I received 30 years ago. We have often taken this caramel corn to parties over the years and it is always a big hit. It has a light buttery caramel flavor and stays a little bit chewy.

Recipe Ingredients:

Popcorn: you’ll want unpopped popcorn kernels and you can pop them on the stove, in the microwave, or with an air-popper
Granulated and brown sugar: these are the sweet in the recipe and when they cook they also add to the stickiness of the recipe
Corn syrup: this helps the caramel come together really nicely and helps the caramel to stay sticky
Butter: this adds great flavor and texture to the caramel

How to make caramel popcorn:

Start by popping your popcorn and take a little extra time to remove any unpopped kernels, biting into one in the caramel corn is a real tooth breaker.
Make your caramel by adding everything but the butter to a small saucepan.
Cook the mixture until it reaches 260 degrees F on a thermometer.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
When the butter melts, drizzle the hot caramel over the popcorn and stir to combine (careful it’s hot!).
Spread the caramel corn on a wax paper lined cookie sheet to cool and then serve.

Why do I need a candy thermometer?

As caramel and other candies cook, they change textures. They go from liquid to a thick sauce, to sticky and tacky, and then a hard candy. Keeping track of the temperature of your caramel ensures that you end up with the nice chewy texture.

How long is caramel popcorn good for?

If stored in an airtight container, caramel corn can last up to 3 weeks, though I do think the texture is best the first day or two.

a top view of a bowl of sticky caramel corn popcorn

Can I add other toppings to my caramel corn?

Adding other toppings to caramel corn can take your popcorn experience to a whole other level. After coating your popcorn in caramel, you can add toppings such as nuts, candies, or drizzle melted chocolate on top. There are endless possibilities of ways you can make your caramel corn to your liking.

caramel being drizzled over a bowl of popcorn

More recipes for you:

If you’ve tried this caramel popcorn recipe or any other recipe on Barbara Bakes, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.

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Caramel Corn

Caramel popcorn made with a simple stove top caramel that stays sweet and soft and sticky.

Prep Time30

Course: Appetizers and Snacks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: caramel, Snack

Servings:

Calories: 140kcal

Author: Melissa Griffiths

Ingredients

8 cups popped corn about ⅓ cup unpopped
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar packed
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
1 teaspoon white vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter

Instructions

Measure popped corn into large bowl.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, vinegar and salt in 2-quart saucepan.
Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook, stirring constantly, to 260º on candy thermometer (or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball).
Reduce heat to low; stir in butter until melted.
Pour syrup in thin stream over popcorn in bowl, stirring until popcorn is well coated.
Spread mixture on wax paper lined baking sheet. Cool.

Nutrition

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