Caramel Popcorn
The Big Caramel Debate- Our 2 Favorite Caramel Popcorn Recipes: Our two favorite Caramel Popcorn recipes, both are simple and easy to make, and both are delicious!
- One is a gooey caramel fondue recipe that uses marshmallows, and stays really soft and sticky.
- One is a classic caramel corn recipe that can be soft and sticky, but gets a little harder as it sets up.
We LOVE caramel popcorn. It is one of my favorite snacks. My kids love it too. My carpet…not so much! Let’s just say, getting my carpet cleaned every 6 months to remove the remnants of caramel popcorn is well worth it for these two recipes.
The trouble is, I never know which of our two favorite recipes to make. I mean, seriously…how to choose????
I usually choose based on which ingredients I have in more abundance. But tonight we had a “Caramel Off” We made a batch of both, and tried to decide which is our fave. The conclusion… Try them for yourself and see! I like to air pop my corn, but feel free to use other methods.
They are both delicious in their own right. One uses a caramel fondue recipe. Which is fantastic with strawberries, pineapple, rice crispy treats, and all the other delightful dippers for fondue. It is gooey, sticky, deliciousness, and requires marshmallows and some pre-made caramel candies. The other is my mom’s recipe! And it is sooo yummy! It is one of my most requested recipes. It is a richer, butter-yer flavor, and gets a little harder. And it is made with brown sugar, and other pantry ingredients. Both are mouthwatering.
I use an air-popper to make my popcorn, and buy the best kernels I can find, which usually means Bob’s Red Mill or Orville Redenbacher, so I don’t have to pick too many of them out before I coat with caramel. Enjoy!
Fondue Caramel and Momma's Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
Fondue Caramel
- 20 marshmallows
- 1/4 c butter the real stuff
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 7 ounces caramel the kind individually wrapped at the store, or use "bits" to make it easier
- 1 cup corn kernels
Mom's Caramel Popcorn
- 2 c brown sugar
- 1 c butter
- 1/2 c Karo syrup
- 1/4 t cream of tartar
- 1 t salt
- 2 t vanilla
- 1 t baking soda
- 1 cup corn kernels before being air popped
Instructions
- Put butter in bottom of pan and melt it on medium heat
- Unwrap caramels and add to pan
- Add in the marshmallows
- Add in the sweetened condensed milk
- Stir continuously until marshmallows and caramel are melted
- Pop your popcorn, this covers a large batch (I usually do 1-1.5 cups of un-popped kernels per batch)
Mom's Caramel Popcorn
- Add brown sugar, butter, Karo syrup, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla to pot.
- Heat on medium heat, stirring until the sugar is no longer grainy.
- Do not let it come to a boil
- When sugar is melted, add 1 t baking soda, stir in, let foam up.
- Pop your popcorn, this covers a large batch (I usually do 1 -1.5 cups of un-popped kernels per batch)
- Pour over popcorn while popcorn is still hot, it coats more evenly.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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