Yum, yum! The smell of caramel corn is in the air! Nope, I’m not at the county fair but it sure does seem like it! What’s more exciting than a spin on the Tilt-o-Whirl is that you can get all of the awesomeness of this crunchy, sweet, salty, buttery Salted Caramel Corn at home! Say what!? With just 5 ingredients, it’s so easy you will be making it all the time! This could be dangerous!

Just look at all that caramely goodness waiting for you! *munch*crunch*munch*

A video posted by Awesome with Sprinkles (@awesomewithsprinkles) on Oct 2, 2016 at 1:33pm PDT

One of my other favorite parts about this recipe is that I get to bust out the air popper! I don’t know what it is about this thing, but it is so freaking fun to watch those little yellow kernels spaz out and explode into fluffy, white bits as they come shooting out of the spout! I want to cheer on each little kernel! High five popcorn!

This is Detty’s go-to caramel corn recipe that she first introduced us to it last year (for my wedding!) and we have been hooked ever since!

I gave it away in these cute little custom koozies as favors at my wedding last fall. That in itself is a testament to it’s awesomeness! I’m telling you, it’s a WINNER!

We are sharing the love again this year by filling our Boo Baskets with these little pieces of sugary gold. Those lucky neighbors!

How cute did this Boo Basket turn out? If you want to make your own pretty pumpkin and spread the BOO in your neighborhood, check out our post here and download the free BOO printable!

This salted caramel corn keeps really well (though we don’t think it will last very long, in any case!). It makes great road trip food and is perfect for party favors or treat baskets! How about whipping some up for a Netflix movie night?

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Homemade Salted Caramel Corn

By Heidi

October 7, 2016

• Categorized: Desserts

This crunchy, sweet, salty, buttery homemade salted caramel corn will have you dreaming of the county fair. With only 5 ingredients, you can make up a batch in a flash!

• Yield: 16 cups

Ingredients

• 1/2 c unpopped popcorn kernels
• 1/2 c salted butter
• 1 c light brown sugar
• 1/3 c light corn syrup
• 1 tbsp. kosher or sea salt, divided
• 1 large aluminum roasting pan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Line a large baking sheet (you may need two) with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
2. Using an air popper, pop 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels into a large aluminum roasting pan. You can pop the corn into a bowl and then transfer to a baking sheet for the oven. I prefer to do it right in the roasting pan so that I have room to stir and it's one less dish to clean!
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 tbsp of salt together. Stir until combined and let the caramel sauce comes to a boil. Allow the sauce to boil for 4 minutes WITHOUT stirring until it becomes frothy. I know it looks like it is going to boil over and I know you are going to want to stir it down. Don't. It is important that you LEAVE IT ALONE for 4 whole minutes.
4. Carefully pour the hot caramel sauce over the popcorn and stir to coat evenly. I like to spray a little cooking spray on a silicone spatula to keep it from sticking.
5. Sprinkle remaining salt on top (you can adjust depending on your personal preference) and place roasting pan in oven. Bake popcorn for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to make sure caramel is coating the popcorn evenly.
6. Remove popcorn from the oven and spread out evenly into one layer on the baking sheet(s). Let it cool for a few minutes and use your spatula to gently break apart any large pieces that may have stuck together. Allow to cool completely before bagging it up!

Try not to eat it all before it cools if you are planning to share or gift it. However, sharing is entirely optional. 😉