You know those treats that keep you coming back for more. You say “I’ll only have one handful” and then finish the pack, well this delicious Caramel Popcorn is exactly that thing. It will test every ounce of your will power not to keep reaching into the bag for more.
A Few Important Tips
When adding your popcorn to the mix make sure that you have strained out any corn kernels that haven’t popped. Unexpectedly bitting on a hard corn kernel is not the best.
Bake the popcorn at 170 celsius for 10 minutes, then remove the tray from the oven, give the popcorn a mix and return it to the oven for another 5 minutes, mix again and return to the oven for the last 5 minutes. By regularly mixing the popcorn, you avoid burnt popcorn on the tray edges and under cooked popcorn in the middle.
Your popcorn should be a golden rich caramel colour which gives you a lovely crisp texture. If you find that your popcorn is chewy once it cools down, pop it back into the oven for a few more minutes to give it crispness.
Once baked to perfection, seperate the popcorn into small pieces before it cools down and hardens. I tend to do this as soon as the mixture is cool enough to handle, gloves may be a good option here.
Gift Wrapping Ideas
This recipe makes the perfect gift, it can be presented in so many lovely ways. Here are three options:
Caramel Popcorn and Peanuts
Ingredients
- 80 grams popcorn, already popped
- 200 grams peanuts
- 120 grams butter
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 180 grams light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 c
- Line a tray with baking paper and set aside.
- Place your popcorn and peanuts into large bowl. Ensure there are no unpopped corn kernels.
- Add sugar, syrup and butter to saucepan, stir over medium heat until melted. Once melted, let mixture boil uncovered for 4 minutes without stirring.
- Take off heat and mix in baking powder and vanilla. Add this to popcorn and peanuts, stir to coat.
- Spread mixture onto baking tray, bake for 10 minutes and then remove from oven and stir. Return to oven for 5 minutes, remove and stir again. Repeat this about 4 times. Popcorn should be a dark caramel colour.
- Break up clusters of popcorn while still hot. Once cooled your popcorn should be fairly brittle, not chewy. If too chewy, return mixture to oven for a little extra baking time. Cool before placing into gifts bags / jars.
