Eat Laugh Purr

Be Inspired: To Cook, To Laugh, To Dream

Caramel Corn Crack

by Tanya

caramel corn

I’ve made a lot of good things in the past sixteen months. Some I’ve liked and some I’ve loved. But this is the most dangerous thing I’ve ever made. I literally could not stop eating it. And that’s why it comes with a warning—this is caramel corn crack.

It is 100% addictive, and I am the first member of the caramel corn crack overeaters anonymous group. And I suspect, once you try this, you’ll be joining me. I know cracker jacks are more synonymous with baseball, but I figured football fans liked popcorn too.

Of course, this is no ordinary popcorn. It’s coated in a lush, rich caramel sauce with plenty of crunchy cashews and almonds. I had to measure out a reasonable serving every day, otherwise I’m pretty sure I would’ve eaten until I was sick. It’s that addictive.

Whether you make this for Super Bowl Sunday or movie night or just because it’s Wednesday—you need to make this. And while I apologize for resorting to peer pressure, I also know you’re looking for an excuse to succumb to my caramel corn crack. I’ll see you at our first group meeting, and I’ll bring the popcorn.

Print Recipe

Caramel Corn Crack

Ingredients

  • 8 cups plain popcorn
  • 1 cup mixed nuts I used cashews and almonds
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 6 Tablespoons clear corn syrup
  • 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
  • kosher or sea salt

Instructions

  • Combine popcorn & nuts in a large bowl (one that will clean easily). Make sure to throw out any kernels that didn’t pop. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
  • Melt the butter then add sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the mixture boils. Turn down heat and continue cooking until it thickens and turns a nice caramel color (10-12 minutes), stir occasionally.
  • Remove the caramel mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla with a heat-proof spatula.
  • Pour the mixture into the bowl of popcorn & nuts, stirring vigorously until coated (like you would when making Rice Krispie treats but don’t use your bare hands – this stuff is hot!).
  • Spread the popcorn mixture onto your prepared baking sheets and generously sprinkle with salt.
  • Let the caramel harden before breaking into clumps. Store for up to a week in an airtight container.

Notes

I used one bag of light butter microwaveable popcorn.
My caramel sauce hardened pretty quickly so I had some trouble coating all the popcorn and nuts with the sauce. So I put about a 1/2 cup of the caramel corn into a microwaveable dish and reheated for up to 30 seconds then vigorously stirred everything together. It was a bit time consuming to do this to the entire batch, but was totally worth it.
Recipe from Blue Jean Gourmet .

Enjoy!

Tanya