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Homemade Caramel Corn Recipe: Easy make at home caramel corn, so good, better than store bought, perfect for gift giving.

It's the final day, Day Five of Christmas Treats Week.  And today we're making Homemade Caramel Corn. It's been so much fun making lots of sweet treats for the holidays.  And, my family and friends sure are enjoying eating them all. Check them all out at the bottom of this post.

This caramel corn recipe is amazing.  Like I can't stop eating it amazing.  I mention to my friend Leanne long ago that I was looking for a caramel corn recipe.  She said she had one, and that people she'd given the caramel corn to in the past keep asking her and asking her to make it for them again.  Always a good sign.  And after making it myself I knew why they keep asking for it, it's so good.  This is sometimes called Amish caramel corn, and comes from an old Amish family recipe.  This Amish recipe uses simple ingredients.

One of my very favourite things to get at Disney World is the amazing Caramel Corn at Epcot, from the Werthers Bake Shop.  After I first made this caramel corn, I told my husband we don't have to go to Disney World anymore.   Then he looked sad, so I revised it to, we can satisfy our Disney World Caramel Corn cravings in between trips.  ;). If you're a fan of the Disney Werthers caramel corn, I know you'll love this recipe too.

This caramel corn is quite easy to make, it just takes a little time.  I promise it's worth it though.

Popcorn

We used our air popper to make our popcorn.  The measurement in the recipe is for unpopped kernels.  All of the popcorn kernels will not pop, but make sure to remove them.  You don't want to bite into a caramel covered unpopped kernel, as it would be very hard on your teeth.  I don't recommend using microwave popcorn for this, as it usually included salt and butter which we don't want for our caramel corn recipe.

Optional:

This caramel corn is also be great with some nuts stirred in with the popcorn.  Add a cup of peanuts to the popcorn and caramel mixture before baking if you wish.  We like using roasted peanuts, but you can alter the nuts, or try mixed nuts if you wish, or slivered almonds, or pecans.  Salted nuts add that great salty sweet combo, that many people love and is something a little different.

Gift Giving

This sweet treat is perfect for gift giving.  I've packaged it up into cute little take-out boxes, it would also be great in cello bags.  It's a great recipe with no artificial flavors, made with simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry and fridge.  It has a great depth of flavor and is buttery and rich. We love to make this around the holiday season.  It's become one of our family traditions to bring it to holiday parties and family gatherings.  Anyone with a sweet tooth will love it.  It's a perfect hostess gift.  It's also great around Halloween.  It makes a great little party favor packaged in cute containers.  Really, this is a lovely homemade gift anytime of year.

Be sure to store it in an airtight container.  But, it probably won't last too long.  It tends to be a little bit addictive once you start eating it.

Recipe

Homemade Caramel Corn Recipe

Sweet and crispy caramel corn.

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Course: Candy, Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 148kcal

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup butter
• ▢ 2 cups brown sugar
• ▢ ½ cup corn syrup
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels -popped

Instructions

• Start by popping your popcorn, and removing any unpopped kernels. Set the popped popcorn aside.
• In a large pot, melt your butter over a high heat and stir in the sugar, corn syrup and salt.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 5 min. without stirring.
• Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. Take care, it will foam up when the baking soda is added.
• Add the popcorn to the caramel sauce and stir until the popcorn is completely covered.
• Pour mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
• Bake at 250 for 75 min. stirring every 15 min.
• Continue to stir and break up the caramel popcorn clusters as it cools after baking for the best results, so that it doesn't stick together as it cools.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 195mg | Sugar: 20g

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @LifeisaParty or tag #lifeisaparty!

With this Homemade Caramel Corn, life really is a party!

More Homemade Candy Inspiration

Check out all these other posts from our Christmas Treat Week:

Pecan Butter Crunch recipe here.

Creamy Caramels and Chocolate Salted Caramels recipe here.

Homemade Caramel Apples recipe here.

Homemade Coffee Marshmallows recipe here.

How To Make Easy Creamy Caramel Candies: these caramels are delicious, and easy to make, and the perfect gift.  Serve plain, with salt for salted caramels, or dipped in chocolate.

This easy homemade caramel candy is such a favorite.  It's perfect for a special homemade treat.  It's sweet and chewy, and soft and the perfect treat for any caramel lover.  Wrap these soft caramels up for gift giving, sprinkle them with salt for salted caramel, or dip them in chocolate for caramel chocolates.  Anyway you serve them, these homemade caramels are so delicious.

It's Day Three of Christmas Treats Weeks, and today I'm sharing a recipe for Creamy Caramels and Chocolate Salted Caramels.  You can check out all the other recipes for Christmas Treat Week at the bottom of this post.

If you are making these chewy caramels for the holidays be warned that these are so good, you might have a little trouble not eating them between now and Christmas.  My family finished an entire batch in days, but this caramel recipe is so easy you can make another batch.  I love this homemade candy for gift giving around the holidays, or serving guests.  It's also really nice as a Valentine's Day treat too.  But really any time of year, who won't love some homemade caramel?  

It's a lovely party favor too.  It's one of the easiest candy recipes too. So if you're a beginner at making homemade, which can be a little tricky if you're not used to using a candy thermometer, this is a great recipe to start with.

Candy Thermometer

You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.  They're inexpensive to buy, and great to have on hand.  Look for them at any good kitchen store.  The candy thermometer attaches to the side of your pan.  Just make sure that the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan, which will not give you an accurate reading of your candy temperature.  It's important to get the candy to the right temperature for it to set property.  If it's undercooked it can be runny and if it's over cooked it will become hard.

Some people like to use the cold water test and get the caramel to the firm ball stage.  To test this way you take a spoonful of the hot caramel and drop it into a cup of ice water, and then mold it into a ball with your fingers.  You're looking for it to be fairly firm and make a ball.

I prefer to use a candy thermometer because I find it easier.  The temperature is exact, so it takes the guesswork out of the cooking process, and is the easy way to make perfect caramel candies each time.

Both the creamy caramels and the chocolate salted caramels have the same caramel base.  In fact, it's the same caramel I made for the caramel apples yesterday.  I made two batches of the apples, and each time I poured the leftover caramel into a well greased small rectangle container after I was done dipping apples.  I let the caramel mixture harden overnight, and then removed it from the container and sliced into small cubes.

To wrap the creamy caramels, just cut small pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and wrap each square.  You might like to tie the ends with a little twine too.

You could, of course sprinkle these with a little sea salt to make salted caramel candy too.  I left these ones plain.

Packed in a little jar, these are perfect for gift giving.

Store your caramels in an airtight container, or wrapped airtight with some waxed or parchment paper, at room temperature.

Chocolate Covered Caramels

To make the Chocolate Salted Caramels dip your creamy caramels in some melted chocolate.  I used semi-sweet chocolate melting wafers, that I melted in the microwave.  You could also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate, whatever you like best.  You can also add a little salt before they set for salted caramel chocolates.

Salted Caramel Candies

If you have some fans of sweet and salty together on your Christmas list, these are sure to be a big hit. I used Pink Salt, sea salt or Himalayan Salt would be nice too.  Just sprinkle it over the caramels as they set, or sprinkle some over the chocolate before it sets.

Troubleshooting

The main problem that can occur when making your homemade caramels is around not getting the caramel mixture to the right temperature when your cooking it.  Be sure that the candy thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan.  If necessary adjust the clip on the side of the thermometer so that it fits tightly and can hold the thermometer up off of the bottom of the pan.

Too Soft:  If your caramel is too soft you likely didn't cook it long enough.  If it doesn't reach 240 degrees F, it will not set properly and instead of being chewy, it will be too soft and not hold it's shape.

Too Hard:  You also might overcook your caramel candies so that they are too hard and not soft and chewy.  To fix this problem be sure to remove the caramel mixture from the heat as soon as it reaches 240 degrees F.

Gift Giving

If you have some fans of sweet and salty together on your Christmas list, these delicious caramels are sure to be a big hit.  Place the caramel candies in gift boxes, or a cellophane bag, or glass jar for gift giving.  Last year, these were a big hit with all my friends and family.  Everyone loved their chewy texture.  If you're having candy cravings this holiday season, this is the perfect caramel candy to make.  

These caramel candies also make a lovely small party favor.  Wrap them up in a some packaging that matches your party theme and send them home with guests for the sweetest goodie bags.

Recipe

Creamy Caramel Candy

Soft caramel candy with chocolate and sea salt.

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Course: Candy, Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 85kcal

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup butter
• ▢ 8 oz. brown sugar
• ▢ 7 oz. half of a 14 oz. can condensed milk
• ▢ ½ cup corn syrup
• ▢ pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ Optional: salt and melted chocolate for dipping

Instructions

• To make the caramel, combine butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup and salt in a heavy saucepan.
• Bring it to a boil over a high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Pour into a well greased 8 x 8 pan, and let set overnight at room temperature or for a few hours in the fridge.
• Remove caramel from the pan and cut into small cubes with a sharp knife. Wrap in parchment paper squares. Or, add salt first for salted caramels. Or, dip in chocolate and then sprinkle with salt for chocolate salted caramels.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 67mg | Sugar: 12g

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @LifeisaParty or tag #lifeisaparty!

With homemade caramel candies, life really is a party!

More Homemade Candy Recipes

Check out all these other posts from our Christmas Treat Week:

Pecan Butter Crunch recipe here.

Homemade Caramel Corn recipe here. 

Our Homemade Caramel Apples recipe here.

Homemade Coffee Marshmallows recipe here.

Homemade Caramel Apples: Easy, made from scratch Caramel Apples, perfect for gift giving.

Caramel apples are such a great treat.  The combination of tart crispy apple with the smooth creamy sweet caramel is a match made in heaven.  Perfect homemade caramel apples are the perfect handheld treat.  They're especially during the fall when it's apple season.  I love making them for special parties, and these easy caramel apples make great gifts or party favors too.

It's Day Two of Christmas Treat Week.  Today I'm sharing my Homemade Caramel Apples. You can find all about the rest of the recipes from Christmas Treat Week at the end of this post.

These are so good, and perfect for holiday gift giving.  Your family and friends are sure to love them.  And we've dressed these ones up for Christmas with some pretty festive sprinkles.  You can change out your sprinkles to suit whatever season or holiday your in.  We've made our caramel from scratch with a simple recipe.  No need to unwrap pre-bought caramel candies for ages.  This homemade caramel is cheaper, fresher, and more delicious and makes the best caramel apples.

Caramel Apples vs. Candy Apples

Caramel apples are fresh apples that have been dipped into a soft caramel coating.  When the set the caramel coating will still remain quite soft and sticky and it's relatively easy to bite through.  If you struggle with the sticky caramel, you can cut your homemade gourmet caramel apples into wedges so that they're easier to eat.  

Caramel apples are different than candy apples.  Candy apples have a hard candy coating on the outside.  They are traditionally red, and it can be quite difficult to bite through the hard candy coating on the outside of the apple.  If you're looking for a candy apple recipe please check out our traditional red candy apple recipe here.  And click here if you want to see how to pink or any other color candy apples here. You might also like our Caramel Apple Fondue Recipe.

Apples

You can use a variety of different apples for making your caramel apple.  Lots of people like to use tart granny smith apples to contrast the flavor of the tart apples with the sweetness of the caramel.  Some people like pink lady, fuji, or honeycrisp.  You can use whatever types of apples that you prefer for this recipe.  My preference is a crisp eating apple, and not a baking apple.

Wax and Apples

No matter what variety of apple you decide to use for your caramel apple, the most important thing is that you either choose one that has not been waxed or that you remove the outer waxy coating and properly prep apples before dipping them.  Most apples from the grocery store have a waxy coating on the outside to make them look more shiny.  The wax can prevent the caramel coating from sticking properly to the dipped apples.  

The best way to avoid this problem is to purchase your apples directly from a farmer's market, or orchard where the apples haven't been coated.  If you can't do that and need to get your apples at the grocery store you can remove the waxy coating.  

To clean the wax off boil a large pot of water and then turn the heat off.  Next, quickly dip your apples in the boiling the water for a few seconds, then use a kitchen towel to rub the melted wax off of the apples.  You don't want to keep the apples in the boiling water too long because you don't want to start the cooking process, or discolor your apples.  A quick dip in the hot water is all that's needed to make the wax melt and allow you to clean it off with a kitchen towel.  Be sure to dry your apples before dipping, and chill them for the best results.

How To Stop Puddling

One problem that can sometimes occur when making homemade caramel apples is that caramel coating can run off the apple and puddle around the bottom.  One cause of this problem is that the apples have not had their waxy coating removed and the caramel is sliding down off of the apple and pooling at the bottom of the apple.  

To avoid this problem follow the directions above to clean off the waxy coating using hot water.  An even better solution is to purchase apples from a farmer's market or orchard that don't have the waxy coating added to them.  

Caramel puddling at the bottom of the apple can also be because of the temperature of your caramel when you dipped the apple.  It can be helpful to chill the apples before dipping.  If the caramel is too hot, it may run off of the apple.  It may also become too cold to dip the apple, so you want to find that sweet spot as best as you can where the caramel is not to hot to avoid excess caramel drip, but still warm enough to dip the apple into easily.

You also may have to work on your dipping technique.  You want to hold your dipped apple over the caramel pot long enough for some to drip off before placing it on the parchment paper to set.  Some people like to spin their apple slightly and some people like to dip apples and then scrape a little caramel off the bottom of the apple on the side of the pan before setting it down.  You will have to experiment a little and find what works best for you and gives you the best dip without having too much of your buttery caramel dip down around the bottom of your freshly dipped caramel apple.

Caramel Apple Topping Ideas

You can top these caramel apples with anything you like, or even just leave them plain. For these ones I used some drizzled melted chocolate and Christmas sprinkles for a real festive feel for the holidays.  Adding your favorite things to these apples as toppings takes them to the next level.  You might want to think about what the caramel apples are coated with at your favorite gourmet place like rocky mountain chocolate factory to give you some ideas for favorite toppings, like s'mores apples, or turtle apples.  

You can use just about anything small and sweet to add to these caramel apples such as:

• milk chocolate
• dark chocolate
• white chocolate
• graham crackers
• mini marshmallows
• M&Ms
• mini chocolate chips
• toffee bits
• peanuts, almonds, cashews, or pecan pieces
• cut up chocolate bar pieces
• shredded coconut

These would be beautiful on a holiday dessert tray, you can cut them into apple slices for easier eating.  Or, wrap the caramel apples for gift giving.  You will love making this easy recipe for family and friends.  Feel free to experiment with different toppings and try different combinations.

Gift Wrapping Your Caramel Apples

Cello bags work perfectly for wrapping, a little tip -push the edges of the bag down and open it up so that you can set the caramel apple inside, without it sticking to the sides of the bag on you.

Add a little bow and some pine for a holiday touch.  Or for a birthday or different celebration try adding coordinating ribbon to match your party colors.  This recipe makes perfect caramel apples that your family and friends will love.  These are best enjoyed when they are freshly made, but you can store a few days in the refrigerator.

Recipe

Homemade Caramel Apples

Crisp apples coated in soft and creamy caramel coating.

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Course: Candy, Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 apples

Calories: 483kcal

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 apples
• ▢ 8 lollipop sticks
• ▢ ½ cup butter
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 7 oz. condensed milk half of a 14 oz. can
• ▢ ½ cup corn syrup
• ▢ pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ optional: chocolate and sprinkles

Instructions

• Prepare your apples by putting a lollipop stick in the middle. If your apples are from an apple orchard, you might be lucky enough to have ones that aren't coated in wax. Most grocery store apples are coated in wax, and you need to remove it so that the caramel sticks. To remove the wax, place the apples in boiling hot water for about 10 seconds, and then wipe with a paper towel. Make sure they're thoroughly dry and chilled before dipping in caramel.
• To make the caramel, combine butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring it to a boil over a high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
  Dip prepared cold apples, and place on a parchment paper or wax paper lined baking sheet to harden.
• Optional: Melt some chocolate in a ziplock bag in the microwave, and snip the corner, and pipe onto the caramel apples. Add sprinkles to the chocolate before the chocolate sets.
• Let harden and package in cello bags. Store in the refrigerator.
  

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 483kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 233mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 73g

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @LifeisaParty or tag #lifeisaparty!

With this Homemade Caramel Apples Recipe for, life really is a party!

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also enjoy Homemade Coffee Marshmallows Recipe here.

How To Make Homemade Creamy Caramels and Salted Chocolate Caramels

You might also like our Pecan Butter Crunch Recipe here.

Or, Homemade Caramel Corn Recipe here.