Easy Microwave Caramel Popcorn

Submitted by GSCook

"Fast and easy and quite delicious, this is my daughter's favorite and a frequent request. Fortunately, I almost always have the ingredients in the pantry and it takes no time at all to throw together! We take this to every sort of kid-oriented activity for which we need to provide a treat. It makes a nice change from cookies and brownies and always disappears fast."

 

• Ready In: 15mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Yields: 16 cups (approx.)
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 16 cups popped microwave popcorn (2 microwavable bags)
• 3⁄4 cup corn syrup (Karo or generic)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

directions

1. Pop the popcorn according to the instructions and empty into a large bowl (be sure to remove any unpopped kernels).
2. Mix the corn syrup and brown sugar together in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on hight for 3 minutes.
3. Stir butter and vanilla into the brown sugar/syrup mixture and stir until the butter is melted.
4. Pour over the popcorn and stir until thoroughly coated.
5. Spread on cookie sheets (greased or sprayed with cooking spray) and dry until desired hardness. (When hard, I break it up a little more as I put it into the serving bowl to make it truly bite sized.).
6. Prep time includes time to pop popcorn (about 3 minute per bag -- I usually measure out everything else while the popcorn's popping). Cooking time includes mixing but does not include drying time; however, that will vary depending on how hard you want your popcorn. We have a tendency to eat it pretty much right away!

Reviews

[kstor1]

Love caramel popcorn, but don't like the fuss. Was given this recipe years ago. It is a favorite.

 

[pilarski2003]

I made this last weekend and it was a great hit with both adults and children. I made it with the light corn syrup and loved it, but next time I'm going to try it with the dark corn syrup to see which we like the best. I used the popcorn with light butter.

 

[SkysMama]

What a perfect snack! Easy to make, had the ingredients on hand, quick and, most importantly, delicious!! I made it for my DH and I last night when we were both craving something sweet. I used only 1 bag of microwavable Movie Theater Butter flavored popcorn and halved the recipe and it turned out great. The caramel did stick to our teeth at first, but not too badly. I found that if you let it sit for at least 30 minutes, it "crisps" up and the stickiness goes away, but we just couldn't wait that long! I would say that the flavor is more like butter toffee than caramel, but still REALLY good! This is a keeper and a great go-to recipe for a quick and sweet snack.