Old-Fashioned Homemade Caramel Corn (No Corn Syrup)
This old-fashioned homemade caramel corn coats freshly popped popcorn in a honey, butter and brown sugar caramel with no corn syrup, then bakes low and slow until crisp.
Servings: 48 cups
Calories: 253kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 gallons popped popcorn
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon butter flavoring can use more vanilla instead
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease two large baking sheets.
- In a heavy saucepot, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt. Place over medium heat and stir continuously until it comes to a boil. Stop stirring and let boil, undisturbed, for three minutes.1 cup honey, 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda and flavorings. Place 1/2 of the cooled popcorn in a large dishpan (I do mine in two batches) and pour over half of the caramel sauce. Stir until evenly coated. Spread onto baking sheet and repeat with remainder on another baking sheet.1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon butter flavoring, 3 gallons popped popcorn
- Place in the oven and bake at 250 for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool and break apart before placing in an airtight container.
Notes
Popcorn: About 1 ½ cups kernels popped in ⅓ cup oil makes roughly 3 gallons. Plain, unbuttered microwave popcorn works too.
Add nuts: Stir 2 cups salted peanuts in with the popcorn before coating.
Corn syrup swap: You can use corn syrup instead of honey, but watch it closely in the oven.
Storage: Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Calories: 253kcal