Illinois Caramel Corn Recipes

CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250°F. Spread popcorn in ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Sprinkle almonds over popcorn.
• In large saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, water, corn syrup and salt; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in baking soda until well mixed. Immediately pour mixture over popcorn and almonds; toss until coated.
• Bake at 250°F. for 15 minutes. Stir; bake an additional 15 minutes. Stir; bake 5 minutes. Immediately spread on foil or waxed paper. Cool 30 minutes before serving.

CARAMEL CORN I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat over high heat. When oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of popping corn. Keep pan moving constantly. When corn stops popping, remove from heat. Place popped corn in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all corn has been popped. Set aside.
• Melt margarine or butter in a medium saucepan, and then stir in brown sugar, syrup, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly; boil without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir baking soda, vanilla, peanuts, pecans, and almonds into brown sugar mixture. Quickly pour nut mixture over warm popcorn, and toss until well coated. Spread on greased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring well every 15 minutes. Cool on aluminum foil, and store in an air-tight container.

CLASSIC CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Spray large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in preheated 250 degrees F oven while preparing caramel.
• Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Boil 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla; mix well.
• Pour syrup over warm popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and spread on foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
• Cool; break apart. Store in tightly covered container.

ILLINOIS CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place popcorn and nuts in a large bowl. Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Raise heat to high; bring to a boil without stirring. Cook until mixture reaches 248 degrees on a candy thermometer, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda.
• Add caramel to popcorn, and stir to coat. Transfer mixture to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring twice. Remove from oven, and immediately sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Let cool. Break into clusters.

CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°. Place popcorn in 2 large bowls. Add 1/2 pound peanuts to each bowl. In a Dutch oven, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir 5 minutes. , Pour half of the syrup over each bowl of popcorn and stir to coat. Transfer to large roasting or 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes., Remove from oven and break apart while warm. Cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

MY AMISH FRIEND'S CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans. You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans. Add the peanuts to the popped corn if using. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.
• Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.

CLASSIC CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Spray large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. I used my butter wrappers instead of spraying. Add popcorn and place in preheated 250 degree oven while preparing caramel.
• Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, butter, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. I skipped the salt because I was using salted popcorn, but your personal preference here. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Boil 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla and mix well.
• Pour syrup over warm popcorn and stir evenly to coat.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and spread on foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (I skipped the cooking spray here too).
• Cool and break apart. Store in tightly covered container. (I think the purpose of the tightly covered container is so you can't open and eat it as quickly).

CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Pop popcorn according to package directions.
• Have two bowls ready.
• Pour popcorn in one bowl.
• Gently Shake the bowl to get the seeds to the bottom of the bowl.
• Remove popcorn slowly into the second bowl leaving seeds in the 1st bowl.
• Toss seeds. Repeat with the second and third bag.
• Prepare 2 baking sheets with a baking mat or parchment paper.
• Preheat oven to 250*F
• In a pot, add butter and cook over medium heat until melted.
• Add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.
• Bring to a boil and cook for an additional 4 minutes, stirring regularly so caramel doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.
• After 4 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the pan from heat.
• Add vanilla extract and be prepared for the mixture to spit at you. Stir to incorporate.
• Add baking soda and stir. Mixture will become fluffy and increase in volume.
• Pour caramel mixture over your prepared popcorn.
• Stir well, careful not to touch the caramel mixture to your skin or it will burn you.
• Spread caramel corn on baking sheets, dividing mixture between the two sheets.
• Evenly space the racks in your oven so you can get both in there at the same time, one on top and one on bottom.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove caramel corn, and stir. Place back in oven on the opposite oven shelf.
• Repeat 15 minute baking and stirring intervals until caramel corn has been baked 2 times total.
• Remove from the oven, stir and let cool.
• I like to stir again after caramel corn has been out of the oven for 5 minutes to prevent clumping.
• Serve once cool.

THE EASIEST AND BEST CARAMEL CORN I'VE EVER MADE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°.
• Spray your largest cookie sheets.
• Pop the popcorn in the oil and set aside. I do this in two batches. Place in a very large bowl. (Plastic bowls work really well because the caramel won't stick; you could also spray the bowl with a bit of Pam).
• Over medium heat in a heavy saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar, salt and syrup. Bring to a rolling boil.
• When it starts to boil, boil a full 5 minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (I used a plastic spatula and ended up sacrificing it)
• Remove from the heat and add the soda. Pour caramel directly on the popcorn and stir to coat completely.
• Pour popcorn onto the sheets and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool and break into pieces. Store in zip-top bags.