Heathers Baked Caramel Corn Recipes

BAKED CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250ºF.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, corn syrup, and salt; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes to a boil, let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and the baking soda. Be careful - as the mixture will bubble up.
• Gradually pour the caramel over the popped corn, mixing well. (I usually have the popcorn in 2 big bowls to give me enough room to stir to coat it with caramel.)
• Turn the coated popcorn out onto 2 large, shallow baking sheets. I usually use half sheet baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minute, or until fairly dry, stirring twice during baking time. Remove from the pan and break into pieces.
• Store the caramel popcorn in an air-tight container.

OVEN-BAKED CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250° F.
• Spread freshly popped corn (we use this stovetop popper) onto two large rimmed pans. Place in the oven to keep popcorn warm and crisp.
• In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir every now and then, dissolving the sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until it reaches the firm ball stage of 248° F, using a candy thermometer. This should take about 5 minutes or so.
• Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Caramel mixture will foam.
• Remove popped corn from oven and pour hot caramel mixture over it, in a fine stream. Fold to mix well. Return pans to oven for 45 minutes, stirring and scraping up caramel from bottom of pans every 15 minutes. Remove pans from oven to a cooling rack. Once caramel corn is cool enough to handle, and not yet hardened, break up any large clumps using your fingers. Then let caramel corn cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week.

CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Pop popcorn according to package directions.
• Have two bowls ready.
• Pour popcorn in one bowl.
• Gently Shake the bowl to get the seeds to the bottom of the bowl.
• Remove popcorn slowly into the second bowl leaving seeds in the 1st bowl.
• Toss seeds. Repeat with the second and third bag.
• Prepare 2 baking sheets with a baking mat or parchment paper.
• Preheat oven to 250*F
• In a pot, add butter and cook over medium heat until melted.
• Add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.
• Bring to a boil and cook for an additional 4 minutes, stirring regularly so caramel doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.
• After 4 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the pan from heat.
• Add vanilla extract and be prepared for the mixture to spit at you. Stir to incorporate.
• Add baking soda and stir. Mixture will become fluffy and increase in volume.
• Pour caramel mixture over your prepared popcorn.
• Stir well, careful not to touch the caramel mixture to your skin or it will burn you.
• Spread caramel corn on baking sheets, dividing mixture between the two sheets.
• Evenly space the racks in your oven so you can get both in there at the same time, one on top and one on bottom.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove caramel corn, and stir. Place back in oven on the opposite oven shelf.
• Repeat 15 minute baking and stirring intervals until caramel corn has been baked 2 times total.
• Remove from the oven, stir and let cool.
• I like to stir again after caramel corn has been out of the oven for 5 minutes to prevent clumping.
• Serve once cool.

NUTTY BAKED CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Place popped popcorn into a large 4" deep buttered baking pan and place it in the oven to keep warm.
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
• Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt.
• Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Boil without stirring for 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the soda & vanilla.
• Remove popcorn from the oven.
• Slowly pour syrup mixture over popcorn and add nut mix, mixing well.
• Butter a 15.5"x10.5"x1" baking pan.
• Turn all into the pan.
• Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven & cool completely.
• Break or cut apart.
• Store in tightly covered container.

HEATHER'S BAKED CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 and coat roaster pan with butter or cooking spray - I use a non-stick roaster, which is just perfect for this recipe.
• Pop popcorn right into roaster pan.
• Over medium heat (don't go any higher or it might burn - I set my burner at 4.5 on a 9 scale), combine butter, brown sugar, splenda, karo syrup and salt.
• Bring to a boil - Boil for 5 minutes without stirring.
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda.
• Working quickly, dump caramel mixture onto popcorn and stir until well distributed.
• Bake for 30 minutes stirring once after 15 minutes to even out the caramel making sure that all pieces are coated nicely.
• If you like, cool popcorn on parchment paper, especially if you aren't using a non-stick pan - I just leave mine in the non-stick roaster, stirring every once in awhile until completely cool.
• Store in covered tupperware dish - if you have any leftover!