Grandma’s Caramel Popcorn Recipe

Many years ago my grandmother found a recipe for candy-coated caramel popcorn that is much better than the mass-produced version sold with a toy inside the box. For years, she made it every Halloween, and she passed the recipe on to the next generation.

Grandma’s caramel popcorn is buttery, perfectly salty and sweet, satisfyingly crunchy, and full of nuts. Don’t be tempted to cut the recipe in half, because it’s addictive and perfect for sharing. It’s a great snack for an afternoon of reading or football watching. It’s also a great snack for parties, at Halloween or any other time of the year.

Caramel Popcorn Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
  • ½ cup corn syrup (light or dark)
  • ½ TSP baking soda
  • 1 TSP salt
  • 1 TSP vanilla
  • 6 Quarts (24 cups) popped popcorn
  • 1 cup peanuts, shelled

You’ll need a medium saucepan, a mixing bowl that’s large enough for all the popcorn, and 2 baking pans (half-sheet size).

Instructions for Making Caramel Popcorn

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt.
  3. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
  4. Once boiling, allow the mixture to continue to boil for 5 minutes without stirring; remove from heat.
  5. Stir in the vanilla and baking soda.
  6. Combine peanuts and popcorn in the large mixing bowl.
  7. Pour the mixture over the popcorn and peanuts, and mix to distribute the coating thoroughly.
  8. Turn the popcorn, peanut, and coating mixture into the baking pans.
  9. Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
  10. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Break apart and store in air-tight containers.

(My tips – I use light corn syrup, which gives the finished product a lighter, buttery taste; I use silicone mats to line the baking pans;  I pop the popcorn with a mix of canola oil and coconut oil; I increase the nuts to about a cup and a half, and use both cashews and peanuts; because I use salted butter and lightly salted nuts, I typically add only a pinch of salt and not the full teaspoon set forth in the recipe.)

If you make Grandma’s caramel popcorn, comment below or send me an email at stella@stellabarcelona.com and let me know what you think of it!

Read about more of my favorite things to do in October in New Orleans here. Also, if you’re looking for something to read while you dive into a bowl of the popcorn, and would like a romantic thriller that will take you from Halloween to Christmas, consider my latest novel, Imagine, A Black Raven Novel.

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