Homemade Caramel Popcorn: Creative Gifting from the Heart

Homemade Caramel Popcorn: Creative Gifting from the Heart

I am sure everyone has some sort of memory involving the big tin – festively decorated – popcorn tins that would be at every family Christmas. I know I sure do. Caramel corn can often be associated with fall, but I personally think of Christmas ev...

Author

Lehman's

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of light Karo syrup
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 4 quarts of popcorn

Directions

1. First, pop your popcorn. Put the Lehman’s Popcorn Popper onto your stove top on high heat.
2. Coat half of the bottom of the popper with oil of your choice (I used vegetable oil).
3. Put in your popcorn kernels immediately after, covering the whole bottom of the popper and place lid on.
4. Using the handle, on top, stir the kernels around constantly. The popcorn will begin popping and do not stop stirring until you hear 2 seconds between pops.
5. Turn off the heat, remove popper from the burner and set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
8. Stir in the brown sugar, light Karo syrup, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
9. Once boiling, stop stirring and let it boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then carefully stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will foam up.
10. Carefully drizzle the warm caramel sauce over the popped popcorn, stirring gently. You will not be able to coat every piece right away and this is okay.
11. Spread the caramel-coated popcorn across a 9×13-inch shallow pan. Bake at 250°F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure an even coating.
12. Let it cool completely for at least 2 hours.