Hi. My name is Shanna. And I am a salted caramel addict. If it can be made into salted caramel – I will make it. Such as this popcorn. Caramel popcorn good, salted caramel popcorn insane!!!
I have friends that tell me they wish they knew how to bake, cook etc like I do. I tell them I wish I didn’t know how, because then I wouldn’t be able to make things like this salted caramel popcorn and eat all most of it myself.
I have made this recipe many many times. I actually was looking through a huge box of recipes that I have yet to file away and probably wont until we move, but it was fun sitting there going through them. I had forgotten about so many. I used to always print out and save in a PILE, instead of saving to a recipe file on my computer. Because I like to be organized like that….. Lots of recipes over the past 5 years or so from favorite blogs like How Sweet It Is, La Fuji Mama, Recipe Girl, and other sites like All-Recipes, Food Network ( lots of Bobby Flay and Alton Brown recipes) Cooks Illustrated, and Epicurious. Just to name a few. I am a recipe hoarder. And in desperate need of organizing them all.
This recipe originally came from All-Recipes, but its pretty much the same as many other online. I only adapted it slightly by increasing the vanilla, adding big fat sea salt flakes and swapping out the corn syrup for vanilla. I am not a fan of corn syrup at all and in a lot of my recipes that call for it I have had great success swapping it for honey. Like these marshmallows. I cook and bake with as many organic ingredients as I can since I believe in eating the best quality foods for health reasons so corn syrup isn’t an ingredient in my kitchen ever. But local raw honey always is. And the honey totally works in this caramel popcorn recipe.
Don’t you just want to reach into that bowl and shove it all in your face? I did do. I used my kids popcorn bowls for these pics. I got them at my favorite store, Cost Plus World Market. It is SO dangerous how close that store is to my house. Every time I got there I scour the clearance aisle and swoon over all the adorable dishes and other fun kitchen stuff. Like these mini cast iron skillet I want to get soon. There is just something about mini kitchen stuff that gets me every time. Regular size? ehhh I don’ t reaaallly need it. MINI?!?! I must have now!!!!
The other day my blogging friends Miriam, Carla and Jen and I were talking about food styling. Jen was asking about photographing her granola recipe and the discussion turned to food scattered all over the counters. Why do that and who cleans up the mess?? That is always my first thought when I see pics of food spilling out of bowls, dripping off utensils or scattered all over. No one really eats like that, okay well my kids do, but still. So Miriam jokingly said its OK if its spilling out of a bowl. So this pic is dedicated to her
- 2 sticks butter (1 cup) unsalted
- 2 cups brown sugar ( I used dark)
- ½c honey
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 6 quarts freshly popped popcorn ( unsalted and no butter, preferably air popped)
- 1½ tsp large sea salt flakes, such as maldon
- Preheat oven to 250 deg. F. Set out two large cookie sheets with an edge (jelly roll pans) and place half the popcorn in a large bowl.
- Heat butter, honey and brown sugar over medium heat stirring until melted, raise heat and let boil for 4 minutes. Removed from heat and immediately add the vanilla, baking soda and salt. The mixture will bubble up rapidly so stir quickly.
- Pour half the mixture over half the popcorn in the bowl, stirring well to coat, add the other half of the popcorn in the bowl and pour the remaining caramel sauce over the popcorn stirring again.
- Spread the popcorn mixture evenly in the two pans. Don’t worry if all the popcorn didn’t get covered. The sauce will melt again while baking and stirring will help get it all coated.
- Place pans in oven and bake for one hour. Every 15 minutes exactly stir well to help get all the popcorn coated
- Removed after an hour and stir again, as it cools the popcorn will stick together so continue to stir and break up the larger pieces in to smaller ones. Store the caramel corn in an airtight container or resealable baggie. This will keep at room temperature up to 2 week – unless you eat it all first!
This pretty much sums up how good this caramel popcorn is!
P.S. This caramel popcorn is also insanely good on top of vanilla ice cream. Just FYI
Ooh! I love caramel corn. This would be perfect to serve at a Super Bowl party this weekend!
DB-The Foodie Stuntman recently posted…Presenting: Chocolate Chicken Marsala Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce
It would be awesome for a super bowl party!! Thanks for sharing your recipes with me on Twitter. I am booking them.
This looks like a highly addictive snack!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction recently posted…Spiced White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
ridiculously addictive. I couldn’t stay out of the bowl!!
Shanna, you have outdone your recipe developing self! Honestly, I could just dive head first into a bowl full of your Vanilla Honey Salted Caramel Popcorn and never come up for air! Thank you for sharing. This is definitely a MUST MAKE recipe! xoxo
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen recently posted…Baked Santa Fe Dip {Gluten Free Option}
I don’t think I came up for air. I ate so much – I hope you make it soon!!
Hi Shanna! My name is Kate and I am a salted caramel addict too. Oh and a serious popcorn addict too! So you’ve pretty much made my perfect food right now. Yummmm!
Kate | Food Babbles.com recently posted…Gevulde Speculaas – Daring Bakers’ Challenge
welcome to the salted caramel addicts club!!!
Looks great! But, I’m not seeing honey anywhere on the ingredient list. Am I missing something?
thanks for catching that – I have been having issues with the recipe plug in and everything didn’t covert over. I just added it in – so thank you thank you for noticing!
No problem! Thanks for the recipe!
I love salted caramel too…and this looks wonderful Shanna!!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets recently posted…Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Thanks Aimee!!
i’ve been using our air popper alot lately….this sounds like a fun variation to try. yum!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef recently posted…Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches {Repost}
Its so good!! Hard to stop eating once you start!
This looks so unbelievably delicious! And I’m cracking up at your conversation about food photography styling. I go down that road sometimes, and I’m like, who would really plop their bowl of soup or their cocktail right on top of the cutting board with all the crap on it?!
Your photos are beautiful, both those with spillage and those without.
Kare @ Kitchen Treaty recently posted…Creamy Sweet Potato Rosemary Soup
right? Like who really scatters ingredients all over next to their plate or bowl just to sit down and eat? no one. But it makes for good photo “styling” . But then you have to go clean up your mess. ha ha
Stop it with this. I mean really. I have shameful stories of eating *only* the caramel third of those giant buckets of popcorn at Christmas. Year after year, even though they probably have all kinds of terrible stuff in them. Good to have a better way of getting my fix!
Also, the scattering thing? Such a pain! I did that with hazelnuts for the nutella bars and they kept rolling off the board I had them on and then bouncing all over my floor and my cat was chasing them. It was madness. MADNESS, I TELL YOU! sigh… The things we do for a pretty picture.
kelly @ kellybakes recently posted…Exciting News!
ahhh ha ha ha ha!! You freaking kill me girl, I am cracking up!!
Ok, firstly, this looks awesome and half of me hates you because I am trying so hard to kick my popcorn addiction.
Can I steal them from your kids?
Second, I didn’t give blanket approval for bowls spilled over, I said it’s better than just scattering the popcorn.
Third, I want those bowls.
Miriam @ Overtime Cook recently posted…Quinoa and Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
You are awesome!! I was cracking up typing that part knowing you still didn’t like the mess of food everywhere and that bowls tipped were better than nothing, but after the other day’s convo on twitter I had to take these pics!! Also, my kids love those bowls so you might have to fight them for them! ha ha
This stuff was soooo good when you let me taste it. I just wish you had photographed it so I could take some home with me. Now I’ll have to make it myself.
I have some in my freezer – only problem is I realized the chicken stock I used wasn’t my normal when I made this second batch and has mushrooms in it. SO I will make more for you
I love both salted caramel and popcorn! This looks incredible! Sometimes I wish I didnt love baking and cooking and eating so much. It would give me so much time not exercising to burn it all off
Golden syrup is also a good substitute for corn syrup.
Laura Dembowski recently posted…Dolley Madison Cake and Giveaway!
I have yet to find golden syrup! And I have heard its a good substitute as well – and want to try it as soon as I can find it! And I hear ya on the exercising just to balance off our cooking and baking skills! ha ha
Love this recipe! Will be linking back to this in my upcoming post
Thanks so much Marla!!!
Shanna, you naughty girl! This caramel corn looks FANTASTIC. And it’s salted!! Dreams really do come true! <3 <3
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel recently posted…Zagnut Chow
ha ha!!! You crack me up!
Cannot see honey on this recipe so I just subbed coconut sugar. also in australia we do not use sticks of butter and your cup measurement is different to ours so i just guestimated thinking it is not THAT crucial
I edited the recipe because I totally forgot to add in the honey!! So it is there now and you are correct since this isn’t a cake or cookie the butter doesn’t need to be exact and it will still turn out fine. I believe one stick of butter here is 113g I can add that in my notes
OH THAT LOOKS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!! I am the worst cook so I love that I found your blog and see all the cool stuff you do and cook!!! Visiting from SITS. I am SO gonna try this… I loves me some caramel popcorn!
Chris Carter recently posted…February Friend #1
All your comments did end up in my spam but I rescued them!!! Thanks for stopping by!
This recipe looks AMAZING!!!! I am gonna try it… THANKS!! Visiting from SITS!
This recipe looks AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to try it! Visiting from SITS!
Chris Carter recently posted…February Friend #1
I love the idea to put it on top of ice cream. Brilliant. Amazing.
I would like a big bowl (or two!) right now.
Tracie recently posted…Not Broken Beyond Repair
You HAVE to try it. So so good!!
So happy to find a no corn syrup recipe. This was really yummy except I am only going to bake it 30 min next time.
Yeah! Glad you liked. I have always baked for the full hour – but I am sure that 30 would work just fine to. That just means you can eat it faster and that TOTALLY works for me!!!
Hi Shanna
This looks amazing! I was so happy to find a recipe that doesn’t contain corn syrup so thank you for posting! Will link to you as soon as I make and blog this recipe.
Looks heavenly!!
Meg
Yeah!! I hope you like it as much as I do!
This recipe is awesome!
Made mine with medical cannibutter, came out perfect. best-ever recipe for caramel corn!
Thanks a bunch!