About this Recipe

If you are looking for ideas for homemade gifts this caramel popcorn recipe from Donna's kitchen is one you will definitely want to consider. This caramel popcorn is always a hit in our little family. Year round and for special occasions this treat gets gobbled up pretty quickly. If you are thinking of making gourmet popcorn gifts this recipe offers the perfect yummy Christmas popcorn idea. Each year for Christmas we get a big container of this caramel popcorn, with our own individual name on it and the coveted treat makes for a perfect gift. Food gifts are really one of the best ideas for holiday gift giving. A wonderful way to keep the caramel popcorn fresh is to put it into containers that have a lid that seals. If you are giving as a gift that means the recipient also ends up with a container to use in their kitchen.

Grandmother's Tips for Caramel Popcorn Recipe:

1. It is so easy to make your own popcorn, and inexpensive plus you have control of what you are putting into your body. The absolute easiest and healthiest popcorn popper machine is the air-popper machine. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and you get just the popcorn, no oils are even needed with this machine. Then its up to you to decide what you want to put on the popcorn.

2. The type of popcorn popper machine you use will make a difference in the popcorn. Using a hot air popper means you don't have to add any oil to the popcorn kernels.

3. There is a little bit of discussion in our family if the caramel corn is 'sweet enough' or not. This recipe is using 32 cups of popped popcorn. As a point of interest there are 4 cups popcorn in a quart. The original recipe called for 6 quarts of popcorn which makes 24 cups. Donna added an additional 8 cups of popped corn to the recipe and kept the sugar amount at the original caramel popcorn recipe amount which was 2 cups. If you do the math it means there are 8 cups of additional popcorn to cover with the caramel sauce, so of course the coverage is much lighter and therefore less caramel on each piece of popcorn. If you want it to have more caramel coverage, you can always cut the popcorn amount down to the original 24 cups.

4. Nuts are optional in the recipe. Adding healthy tree nuts have been shown to improve glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes, supporting their inclusion in a healthy diet (1). Donna has found using dry roasted peanuts seem to be a tasty option. You could use any kind of nut you like but the taste and texture of the dry roasted peanut seems a perfect match to the caramel.

References:

(1) Viguiliouk E1, Kendall CW2, Blanco Mejia S1, et al. (2014) Effect of tree nuts on glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled dietary trials. PLoS One. 2014 Jul 30;9(7):e103376. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103376. eCollection 2014.

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Ingredients

(Print)

Makes - 32 cups of caramel popcorn

32 cups popped popcorn

2 cups light brown sugar

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup nuts OPTIONAL - we use dry roasted peanuts

Tip: 1/2 cup popcorn kernels makes approximately 14 cups of popped popcorn

Directions

1. You will need to pop at least 1 1/4 cups of popcorn kernels.

2. Pop enough popcorn so you have 32 cups. We use a hot air popcorn maker.

Tip: If you put less popcorn at a time in your popcorn maker you have more success having more of the popcorn popping.

3. Sort through the popcorn you end up using so there are no hard kernels that did not pop.

4. Place the popcorn into a large pot, a large roaster works well. You can split into two to make it easier to work with.

5. In a saucepan over medium heat melt the butter, add the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes until it starts to form a thicker consistency.

6. Remove from the stove and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The sauce will bubble up and get frothy, stir well to incorporate.

7. You can either pour over the full amount in the large container or you can split into two containers and pour half over each. It is very hot syrup so be mindful not to burn yourself. Use a wooden spoon and spatula to work the syrup evenly into the popcorn.

8. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

9. Place into the oven for one hour, stir every 15 minutes.

10. Be sure to pay attention and do the stirring or the syrup will not distribute evenly.

11. Remove from the oven and let cool.

12. You can put onto tea towels or leave in the pan for cooling.

13. Once cooled it keeps very well in sealed containers for a month.

ENJOY!

Return to this Caramel Popcorn from Donna's Kitchen recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

So the big question we ask about popcorn is if popcorn is good for you? The short answer to that "it depends". If you choose organic popcorn in its pure form without adding butter, sugars, salts or flavorings popcorn is high in many nutrients, particulary fiber. Popcorn is in the whole grain food family. It is important however, to find organic popcorn since it is a highly sprayed crop if it is not grown organically.

Popcorn is high in fiber and on its own relatively low in calories. Where popcorn runs into trouble is purchasing it pre-packaged, especially the popcorn designed for micro-wave use. The unfortunate news is many of the bags that the popcorn is put into are lined with a chemical called PFOA and that can potentially cause some health issues. There is also artificial butter in microwave popcorn and studies are teaching us that this too can create problems over time. Not only that, these prepared popcorns can be extremely high in calories.