December 16, 2024 by Emilia Hall (‘26)
While we are in the middle of the holiday season when cooking large meals and extensive dessert trays are in full force-it’s a great time to spread some holiday cheer and enjoy bites to eat with family and friends. Starting with thanksgiving, most people take advantage of the holidays to prepare their favorite foods and treats to eat for the holidays. Even though there are plenty of holiday classics like pies and cookies that fill many household holiday dessert menus, one of my favorite holiday treats is my family’s Caramel popcorn recipe. Every year I look forward to spending time with my family and making this with them. I guarantee it will not disappoint and you will not want to stop eating it! Photo by Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Ingredients:
- 13-15 cups of popped popcorn
- 1/2 Cup butter
- 1 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 250° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Spread your popcorn out of your baking sheet
- In a large heavy bottomed pot, combine your brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup
- Stir until your butter is melted, and bring to an uninterrupted boil for 5 minutes on medium-high
- Take your pot off the heat and mix in vanilla, keep mixing until you have a thick caramel sauce
- Carefully pour your caramel over your popcorn
- Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
8. Optional: add some festive holiday sprinkles for some extra holiday cheer!
9. Let cool and break apart
10. Serve in a large bowl and enjoy!