Caramel Popcorn Recipe

Caramel Popcorn Recipe has a lovely light sweetness & a little bit of cranberry tartness for just the right balance. 14 cups for you & your friends!

I made some Cranberry Caramel Popcorn and I am feeling proud.

Besides peanuts getting thrown into the mix you also have dried cranberry that completes the goodness in this recipe. If you can bear to part with any of the popcorn it would also make a wonderful homemade gift.

This is not the thick covering like you get in those tins. It has that great sweet/tart combo in a large quantity with little effort. Sweet caramel, tart cranberries, and salty peanuts.

You could even call this snack Cracker Jack’s as it’s very similar. Cranberries have been added for the festive feel.

It’s not quite as thickly covered as the boxed treat but you can get it that way by just doubling the coating recipe. Same amount of popcorn but double the covering.

How Do You Make this Homemade Caramel Popcorn Recipe?

The recipe card is below but I’m going to give more hints, tips, and photos here that can’t fit into the recipe card.

Make sure the popcorn is certified organic and that means it will also be non-GMO because genetically modified ingredients are prohibited for organic products.

Make the popcorn according to your package directions. 12 cups of it. I piled it all onto two baking sheets when done.

Now start the caramel on the stovetop.  Add the dairy-free butter and maple syrup, organic sugar, and brown sugar in a medium-sized saucepan. You can double the ingredients for a thicker caramel covering.

 

The cranberries and peanuts go in at the very end.

Bring to a boil (over medium-high heat) stirring (almost) all the time so as to not burn. When it comes to a boil clip on the candy thermometer. This is what mine looks like.

At this point, you only need to stir occasionally. Be very careful as it is at a rolling boil. Cook until the thermometer reaches the hard ball stage. That is 255 degrees on the thermometer.

Remove the candy thermometer carefully and don’t get any hot mixture on your skin.

You’ll have to work quickly with the caramel because it will start to cool while mixing with the popcorn. Pour over the popcorn eyeballing half of the mixture. Stir with a large wooden spoon.

You can pour some into a large mixing bowl and stir that way in a few smaller groups. Place back onto the baking sheet and place in a 300-degree oven and bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven stir and bake 5 more minutes.

Add the cranberries and peanuts and stir again. All done! Now let cool and eat!

 

 

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Popcorn is a year-round treat and it can be dressed up in so many ways. I finally broke down and bought a popcorn maker. It makes life easier and much cleaner.

It was this one and I highly recommend it if you’re in the market. So now I can make popcorn any time I want in just minutes and eat it with a multitude of toppings such as this wonderful Caramel Popcorn Recipe.

What are Some Other Good Popcorn Toppings?

• Nutritional Yeast and cumin of course.
• Dairy-free butter and Franks’s hot sauce or Sriracha.
• A vegan dry mix for cool ranch dressing.
• Chili seasoning mix. Here’s my recipe for Homemade Chili Seasoning Mix.
• And you can dress up this caramel popcorn recipe in other ways too!
  • Salted caramel popcorn
  • Chocolate caramel popcorn
  • Caramel apple popcorn

 

Can You Freeze Popcorn?

• Indeed! There are so many plusses for freezing popcorn.
• Popcorn is super cheap and a little bit pops up huge quantities. Of course, it’s very easy to eat a couple of cups at a time. Even more for lots of people.
• Go ahead and put popcorn in the freezer because it stays good for weeks!
• Not only that popcorn never freezes and never turns stale when stored this way. Amazing!