The Amish make the best, melt-in-your-mouth caramel corn. With just a few simple ingredients, you can whip up this simple holiday treat in about 1 hour.
This is my go-to recipe for every Thanksgiving and Christmas get-together. Homemade Caramel Corn is a classic. It’s also makes for an excellent gift. I like to fill up those big decorative popcorn cans and hand these out to family, friends, teachers, the bus driver, you name it.
Everyone loves caramel corn. In fact, I often have to hide it around the house. Otherwise, my family would devour it in just a few days.
You can also store it in Ziploc baggies and send it off with the kids in their lunchbox. Pretty sure this gets me some extra hugs around the holidays.
How long can caramel corn be stored?
Popcorn is one of those foods that seems to last forever! In fact, popcorn (including caramel corn) doesn’t spoil or go bad. It just loses its flavor and crispiness over time. But when you store it in an airtight container, it should last up to 3 months.
But if you’re like our family, it’s usually gone within a week. You can also fill up some Ziploc bags and pass them out as gifts.
Why is my caramel corn so sticky?
If you find that your caramel corn is excessively sticky, it hasn’t been cooked properly. Temperature and timing are very important when it comes to making the perfect batch of homemade caramel corn.
Be sure to bring it to the correct temperature. This ensures that when it cools, it dries as a shiny coating rather than a sticky sauce. Also, be sure to take your time when you bring the mixture to a boil. If you’re like me, I tend to get a little impatient. But it’s important that you keep the heat on medium and allow it to come to a boil naturally. You want a nice SLOW bubbling boil.
2cupsslivered almonds (Can also use dry roasted nuts, honey rosated peanuts, cashews, Macadamia nuts, or pecans)
2cupsbrown sugar
1/2cuplight corn syrup
1tspsalt
1cupbutter
1tspbaking soda
1tspvanilla extract
Dash of cayenne pepper
Instructions
Cook 2 bags of popcorn in the microwave. Two 3.5oz bags of microwave popcorn equals 7 quarts of popped corn.
Place the popped popcorn into (2) shallow greased baking pans. Sprinkle the slivered almonds or nuts of your choice on top. Set aside. You can also use roasting pans if you prefer, which makes it a bit easier to stir without any popcorn falling out.
Preheat the oven to 240 degrees F. While the oven is heating, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Note: It’s important not to get in a hurry and bring everything to a boil too quickly. You want a nice SLOW bubbling boil.
Once the mixture begins to boil, continue boiling for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the baking pans. Stir to coat.
Bake for 1 hour. But be sure to remove them from the oven and give them a good stir every 15 minutes.
After it’s done baking, line the countertop with waxed paper. Pour the popcorn out onto the waxed paper. Allow the popcorn to cool completely.
Store in airtight containers. It can be kept for up to 3 months.
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Baking the caramel-coated popcorn helps to set the caramel sauce. By skipping this step, the caramel corn will become soggy. Why is my caramel corn soggy? Caramel corn will taste soft and chewy right out of the oven.
Generally, the caramel will have a higher 'water activity' than the popcorn. As a result, if you leave the popcorn for a while, moisture from the caramel will migrate into the corn. This causes the popcorn to lose its 'crunch' and become soft and chewy.
While both caramel corn and kettle corn are sweet, caramel corn is richer in flavor and texture. Historically sweetened with molasses, caramel corn is most-often candy-coated. The thin, crunchy, sweet coating is derived from melted sugar.
To keep your caramel corn fresh, be sure to store it in an airtight container or resealable bag (making sure to press as much air out as you can). The better you seal your container, the longer it will last. You can store it at room temperature on your counter for up to 2-3 weeks.
If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough. Again place the caramel back into a sauce pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to 244°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test with a cold water test. Details on how to use this method can be found here.
Even if you want to add candy or sauces, it doesn't require an egg. Still, some say the egg keeps the kernels from sticking together, while others say it's to keep wannabe chefs from adding too many kernels to the pan.
Baking soda is what makes caramel corn chewy with a bit of crunch and gives it the classic brittle texture. The baking soda also helps the mixture to increase in volume which ensures it covers all of the popcorn. It's an essential ingredient and without it you'll likely find the texture of the caramel corn to be off.
Follow the recipe carefully, and never melt your caramel on your stove's highest setting—it will cause the caramel to scorch and taste burnt. Once it gets a burnt or bitter flavor, it can't be saved.
Caramel: You will need brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup, salt, vanilla, and baking soda to make the caramel mixture. Popcorn: I prefer white popcorn in this recipe.However, you could use white or yellow.
Caramel corn or caramel popcorn (toffee popcorn in the UK) is a confection made of popcorn coated with a sugar or molasses based caramel candy shell that is normally less than 1mm thick.
Cowboy Kettle Corn Cowboy Kettle Corn is family owned and operated. We have an old-fashioned cast iron kettle, use premium mushroom popcorn, and stir the corn by hand with a wooden paddle. We cook our Cowboy Kettle Corn using a secret recipe known only by a few, but loved by many.
Identify the Cause: Grainy caramel sauce typically results from sugar crystallization during the cooking process. This can happen if sugar crystals form on the sides of the saucepan or if the sugar syrup is mixed too much while cooking.
If you like gooey/sticky caramel corn, give it a sprinkle with a good pinch of kosher salt, let it cool and start eating! If you like it crunchy, keep going. To make crunchy caramel popcorn, pour it (pile it) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and place it in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
If your caramel corn came out sticky then, unfortunately, it has not been cooked properly. It is very important to bring the caramel mixture to a boil and boil it for 5 minutes. This helps make sure it dries as a shiny coating during the cooling process instead of a sticky mess.
The longer you cook the syrup (the mixture of sugar and water the forms the base of the caramel sauce), the crunchier your popcorn will be. For very crunchy popcorn (my favorite!), stop cooking when you see the first wisps of smoke coming from the sugar mixture.
He did follow the original oven method, though, which means reheating the popcorn at 250°F for 5 minutes. He took the once-soggy movie theater popcorn out of the air fryer, and it was perfectly crunchy again.
If you leave the cobs in boiling water for too long, the corn's starch content will absorb too much water and its pectin will dissolve, yielding kernels with a soggy texture.
This can be caused by extended cooking times (especially under acidic conditions) and the use of the enzyme invertase. Increasing reducing sugars will add to the flavor and color of caramel – but too much can cause excessive stickiness.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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