This caramel popcorn recipe is now at least on it’s third generation. My Auntie Rose (my Grandma’s sister-in-law) gave it to my Grandma over the telephone. Grandma wrote it on the back of a newspaper advertisement that was dated 1988. I have this piece of paper tucked safely in my collection. This is the third year Phil and I have made it, and it proves to be popular with everyone who tries it.
We made a batch of it on Thursday, and I had hoped to use half of it to take with us to the Japan Society of Northern Ireland’s Christmas party, and use the other half as gifts…but it looks like we’ll have to make another batch to use as gifts as there now isn’t enough to use even for an ‘after” photo!
This recipe isn’t difficult, but it does take some time to make…but it is worth every minute! Just be careful with the caramel sauce and the oven trays as they will obviously become very hot. So for this recipe the children didn’t participate as much as usual, but they did enjoy watching from the kitchen table and of course, they enjoyed having a taste of it when it had cooled down!
Caramel Popcorn Ingredients
- 1 C popcorn kernels, popped (you can safely use at least twice this amount)
- 1 C butter or margarine
- 2 C brown sugar
- ½ C Corn syrup (golden syrup)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp baking soda
How To Make Caramel Popcorn
1) Have popcorn popped and ready in large pan/cookie sheets, etc
2) Mix the next 4 ingredients in a heavy saucepan
3) Heat and stir until boiling 
4) Boil without stirring for 5 mins
5) Stir in vanilla and soda, the mixture will rise up quite a bit at this point
6) Pour over popcorn
7) Mix well with wooden spoons until all pieces are coated 
9) Bake in 250F/130C oven for 1 hour (stirring every 15 minutes), taking care it doesn’t get too dark.
10) Take out and cool completely
11) Break apart and put in plastic bags and freeze, if it lasts that long! It will also keep well for a week or longer in an air-tight container.
Tristan liked this so much he didn’t want me to give any of it away to share! He said it was too good, we should have it all! Phil also ‘complained’ when he saw me bagging it up for gifts. What is your opinion? You could also use nuts or honeycomb in this recipe, which I’m sure would be amazing, but at the moment we are still nut-free in our home, but this tastes great just as it is, so why mess with a good thing?
If you’re in the mood for some delicious treats, try our ginger cookies, macaroons or thimble cookies. You’ll love them!
Ashley Tukiainen says
Your post has been chosen as one of our featured favorites. Thanks for linking up with From The Archives Friday! We can’t wait to see what you post this week 🙂
Crystal McClean says
Fantastic! Have a great week, and I hope we’ll see you again soon.
Tulip says
Yum! This popcorn looks awesome! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Crystal McClean says
It’s my pleasure, one can’t keep something so good to oneself! Happy New Year!
Amber Neal says
Thanks for sharing this with us for MMMM link up party this week! I have been looking for ideas for things I could make as gifts and I think this would be perfect ( as long as I didnt eat it all first!). I am going to be sharing this on the Adventures in Mindful Livings FB page today!
Marianne says
Love this! Sounds yummy 🙂
Crystal McClean says
It’s crispy yet melt-in-your-mouth 🙂
Kim says
Hello coming over from MMM link up. I always wanted to know how to make caramel popcorn. Thanks for sharing. I ‘m pinning it for future reference.
Kim
https://www.thisolemom.com/
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for sharing. It’s not too bad to make, and it tastes fantastic, too 🙂 Let me know how it goes for you.
Deanna says
I LOVE caramel corn. One of my all time favorite Christmas treats
Crystal McClean says
I love it too! It was a really treat when I lived in Japan that you could buy caramel popcorn to eat at the movies 😉
Jennifer L. Lopez says
This sounds so delicious! 😉
By the way, stopping by from the MMM Link Up Party.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
–Jennifer
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy your popcorn and I’m sure we’ll meet up again in 2014 🙂
jessica says
I am a huge caramel lover. I can’t wait to try this recipe. BTW I found you via family fun friday!
Crystal McClean says
Definitely try this out then, it’s fantastic! Caramel and butterscotch are my weaknesses, too 🙂
Carolyn Wilhelm says
I can almost smell the wonderful popcorn from here! This looks so good as I have only seen this at the mall. It sounds like you may have to make this often.
crystalmcclean says
We’ve given away almost 2 batches already this year, and will need to make some for us now. In NI you can only get ‘sweet’ popcorn at the cinema-covered in a white sugar glaze that I’m not a fan of. In Japan you have a choice of either buttered or caramel, it was good, but there’s nothing like the smells of fresh home-baked caramel. It’s not too tricky, so please give it a try!