My Amish Friend's Caramel Corn

An easy way to coat the popcorn is to put the popped corn in a paper grocery bag and pour the caramel mixture over it and stir with a wooden spoon, then dump the mixture out onto your baking pan and throw the paper bag away. I agree with another reviewer that 200 degrees is the right oven temp. I bake it 45 minutes, stirring every 15.

Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe -- it's scrumpdillyicious! :) Instead of 1/2 c. light Karo, I used 1/3 c. light Karo and 1/3 c. molasses. This gave it a flavor absolutely identical to Cracker Jacks (I also used Spanish peanuts rather than dry roasted). I used a large roasting pan and a jelly roll pan, placing the jelly roll pan on the bottom rack in the oven and the roasting pan on the rack just above it. When you first pour the caramel over your corn, you'll think you'll never get it mixed up well....BUT...after the first 15 mins in the oven, it becomes thinner so that you can easily stir to combine. After that, it progressively gets thicker and totally adheres to the popcorn. Believe it or not, clean-up was a snap (I was pleasantly surprised!). Just butter your pan very well and then rinse with hot water as soon as you finish. I would definitely suggest using a good quality popcorn (rather than the cheaper type) so that you get nice fluffy, puffy pieces. I used Orville's microwave butter popcorn, and it took about 2-1/2 bags to make 7 qts. Thank you again...my entire family loves this recipe! :)

Update: I am speechless....only because my mouth is stuffed with caramel corn. 5 stars is not enough. I followed other users tips. 1. Baked at 200 for 40-45 minutes stirring every 10-15 min. 2. Used butter instead of margarine. 3. Used a large roasting pan. Much easier for stirring. 4. I used a whisk for stirring but when adding the baking soda, I switched to a large spatula. That way you are able to get all the caramel out of the pan. 5. I made the caramel first then popped the popcorn. When the popcorn is hot it's easier to stir the caramel mixture into it. Be sure to remove any unpopped kernels. 6. Before you add the caramel sauce, drop 1 tbsp. of it on wax paper. Wait for it to cool down and you have a piece of homemade caramel just as a treat for you! Cuz you're worth it! Pros: Best I've ever tried Cons: Should have made two batches. One for me and one for the rest of the family. Another con was waiting for it to cool down. I just couldn't stop picking at it. Quality control is important you know. This will be a new gift at Christmas time. And it's cheaper than buying it. Thank you so much for sharing.

I've made twice. The first was following the recipe exactly and it was AWESOME. It was somewhere between caramel and toffee. The second time, I realized (already into it) that I was out of brown sugar, so substituted white sugar and added 4T molasses. It too was awesome and if you're looking for a Cracker Jack knock-off, the latter is the ticket. Yum!

This is just the BEST caramel corn! I used 2 bags of microwave popcorn. After corn is popped, I place it in a large paper grocery bag and pour caramel mixture over it (stir with a wooden spoon).I also added some slivered almonds and some dried cranberries (yum).Poured mixture in jelly roll pan coated with nonstick spray. I baked for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 mins. The next time, I might even try doubling the caramel topping. If you like caramel corn, you'll LOVE this recipe. Thanks for the posting!

I've been making this recipe since 1979 and it IS the best caramel corn recipe I ever found! I never use peanuts, though. I use almonds, cashews or pecans. Do use butter - improves it so much,if you can believe that! This is great to give in tins or those pretty decorative bags at Christmas! Make more than you think you'll need, because people will ask for more! :)

Update: I am speechless....only because my mouth is stuffed with caramel corn. 5 stars is not enough. I followed other users tips. 1. Baked at 200 for 40-45 minutes stirring every 10-15 min. 2. Used butter instead of margarine. 3. Used a large roasting pan. Much easier for stirring. 4. I used a whisk for stirring but when adding the baking soda, I switched to a large spatula. That way you are able to get all the caramel out of the pan. 5. I made the caramel first then popped the popcorn. When the popcorn is hot it's easier to stir the caramel mixture into it. Be sure to remove any unpopped kernels. 6. Before you add the caramel sauce, drop 1 tbsp. of it on wax paper. Wait for it to cool down and you have a piece of homemade caramel just as a treat for you! Cuz you're worth it! Pros: Best I've ever tried Cons: Should have made two batches. One for me and one for the rest of the family. Another con was waiting for it to cool down. I just couldn't stop picking at it. Quality control is important you know. This will be a new gift at Christmas time. And it's cheaper than buying it. Thank you so much for sharing.

I prefer this made with butter rather than margarine but otherwise thought this was really good. I used about one and a half cups of unpopped corn & no nuts.

Very yummy. I used Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Kettle Corn popcorn for this recipe. I lined one of the pans with foil, but ran out when I went to line the other pan. On the unlined pan, the carmel drippings came off and mixed very well with the popcorn while I stirred it and also when I removed it from the pan. The lined pan (even though it was greased) wasn't nearly as cooperative as the unlined pan. It was even worth the washing. Thanks for the great recipe.

I'm the cook who posted this recipe and to those who had issues with the syrup being grainy...take heart!...I've had that happen to me once or twice too. I think that this happens when I'm impatient and try to bring everything to a boil too quickly and some of the sugar is not fully dissolved. I have also seen that boiling it too rapidly also seems to make the mixture want to crystalize. I recommend using a medium high heat (stoves will vary) just so that you have a nice SLOW bubbling boil going. Once crystalization happens there's nothing to do to reverse it so that batch is pretty much a gonner at that point. I've also read that humidity and heat (air temperature) play a roll in candy making and it is best to do this on cool dry days. Hopefully these tips will help.

For a great variation, I prefer to skip the dry roasted peanuts and add slivered almonds and dried cranberries (Craisins). A wonderful hostess or teacher gift for the holidays!

There's a good reason this is a top recipe on AR. It's simple, tasty & pretty quick. Making it as listed in the recipe (minus using margarine) ... is pretty awesome - I've made several dozen batches over the years. A few things I did to adjust it to make it my own that seem to be pretty popular with friends and family: 1) Only use real butter - it makes it very rich & yummy. I like handrolled fresh butter best. 2) I add cayene pepper - sometimes just a dash, sometimes more; adds another warm layer of flavor & I don't even like spicy food that much - this addition seems to be most popular with everyone whose tried it. 3) Adjust the salt to your liking - I add a bit more - I think it provides a bit more balance to sweet/salt. 4) I add 1/2 tsp more baking soda .. it makes the mix very light and fluffy. Much easier on your teeth too. 5) Once it cools a bit in the pan, toss it around with your hands to loosen it up & separate. It keeps the kernels whole instead of breaking them up like a spoon does. I wait 15 minutes after its out of the oven & test if its too hot, then toss it every 15 minutes a few times until hardened. Don't wait too long - it clumps. I think the key to this recipe is to try it once, as is, & then make adjustments on subsequent batches to make it your own. Ive added peanut butter, substituted some of the corn syrup for maple syrup & have made some spiced with cinnamon and other spices. All super yummy!

I love this recipe. The only thing I change is to use butter instead of margarine. Other than that, it's perfect. I always buy one of the large disposable aluminum pans which makes clean up a breeze. Another thing I do to minimize the number of unpopped kernels in the final product is to pour out my popped popcorn onto a wire cooling rack. The unpopped kernels fall through and the popped popcorn stays on top. Thanks for a great recipe!

Do yourself a favour and make this recipe. It seems like a pain but it's easy as anything and so delicious. I made them to give out for Halloween. I'll also give them for teacher gifts. People who said this was chewy didn't cook the sugar enough. Invest in a candy thermometer and cook it until it gets to 250F. Also use the full hour. When you stir it every 15 minutes every kernel will get covered. Awesome awesome recipe.

Great recipe! I admit I was a little hesitant to make a full batch, but I'm thankful I did. We had our Youth Group over and they ate ever last kernel. I used butter instead of the margarine and skipped the peanuts (didn't have any in the house). 1 cup kernels equals approximately 7 quarts popped popcorn. The popcorn coated very nicely and evenly by the second stirring. I used one roasting pan and one jelly roll pan. I would use a 9x13 cake pan before I use a jelly roll pan again, too much spilling while attempting to stir. Thank you for the super yummy recipe! :)

I feel so badly reviewing this recipe with 3 stars! Mine tasted kind of burnt. I will definately try it again and cut down the cooking significantly. My oven only goes down to 300 so I cut down the cooking time to only 25 minutes and stirred it often...still tasted burned. I would NOT use margarine either...ICK! I will for sure try it again though. Thanks! Update-I made this again with perfection. I'll share my tips to perfect caramel corn! It is a 10-star with my changes. Maybe the first recipe was fine, but it just didn't work for me. I used 2 bags of microwave popcorn (it was buttered) and picked out the popped corn. I made the caramel exactly like the recipe except using real butter. I greased two large baking sheets and set those aside. I used a large paper grocery bag, sprayed the inside with Pam and dumped the popcorn in. Then when the caramel was done i poured it into the bag, stirred and then shook the bag. I dumped the coated corn out onto the prepared sheets. The corn was totally covered! I cooked it at 300 for about 19 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. I used a large spatual to stir the corn as to get all the caramel off the bottom of the pan. I think followed the directions for cooling the corn. Perfection!!!! I hope my tips help.

This was excellent! Great flavor, used real butter but I halved the recipe since I didn't want a huge amount. Two 3.5 bags of microwave popcorn were perfect. I kept the popcorn in a 200 degree oven until the caramel was done. Everything mixed easily, and cleanup was quick after a quick soak in hot water. I will make again for Christmas gifts.

The only word I can come up with to describe this delicous treat is "decadent". This is one of those recipes you can't mess up as long as you keep the oven temperature and the burner temperature low and keep stirring. It was easy and clean-up was a breeze. Just poured the entire batch out into a party bowl and threw the disposable pan out! This recipe yielded more than enough and is the best caramel popcorn I have ever tasted. In comparison to storebought it is much better and so much fun to make. I don't know if this made a difference in the taste, but I used 2 sticks of unsalted butter rather than margarine, in the recipe. I used a disposable aluminum turkey pan and sprayed it generously with butter flavored PAM. I also sprayed the spoon before each stir. I used honey roasted peanuts which worked well although next time I would like to try plain salted. Because sometimes my oven runs hot, I baked this at 200 degrees, again I dont' know if it made a difference. The one thing I didn't do that I regret was not sifting through the popcorn and removing the unpopped kernels BEFORE I poured the caramel over it. I had to be very careful about chomping down on an unpopped kernel and breaking a tooth and once these unpopped kernels are coated with the caramel they are almost impossible to spot. Other than that, I can't say enough about this recipe except that I will be doubling up for the holidays and giving it out to friends and neighbors as gifts. This stuff stores great in

Now, to take it over the top, after the caramel corn has cooled, take 5 large (4.25oz) dark chocolate bars, melt 'em and drizzle over the caramel corn. I used hershey's special dark. Once the chocolate has set up, ( you may need to pop it into the fridge for a few minutes) break it up and enjoy.

very tasty! we used 3 1/2 bags of microwave popcorn, stirred the mixture in a large paper bag, and baked it at 200 degrees for 35-40 mins. If you have never worked with cooked sugar before just a warning that it is VERY touchy/time sensitive. not enough time on the stove and the coating will be a bit grainy and miss that "deep" caramel flavor. but if you leave it boiling too long, you end up getting a burnt sugar flavor and the coating will harden up REALLY fast out of the pot, making it hard to mix into the popcorn. So make sure you do this without too many distractions around!

I've been making this recipe for years and had to finally write a review. Follow it exact. This is the best! I use 2 bags of microwave popcorn for 7 quarts.

This was incredibly simple to make... and SOOOOO amazingly good!!! I used just over a cup of unpopped popcorn, and was able to fill a cookie sheet, and 2 9x11 pans. There was enough syrup mixture to nicely coat all of that, so it made a LOT! Only thing I did different was to use half corn syrup, half blackstrap molasses (just because I love the taste of molasses)and it was just amazing. Served it to a bunch of friends and they were very impressed! Try this one for sure!!

Good caramel corn! When you make this with molasses instead of light corn syrup it tastes just like the old-time corn, boxed with a toy inside.

Oh MY goodness!!!! This is SO addicting and SO incredibly delicious!! I made with honey roasted peanuts and butter instead of margarine, which made this popcorn even more wonderful than it already is!!!

This was so yummy I couldn't stop eating it last night! The only change I made was to use maple syrup instead of corn syrup since I didn't have any. It turned out spectacular! This will definitely be a recipe I will make over and over again!

This is excellent! Everyone loves it and it is definitely addictive! My only suggestions are: 1)Put it in a deep pan, like a roaster, instead of a jelly roll pan. The first time I made it I used jelly roll pans and every time I stirred, I had popcorn everywhere. 2)Use a 1-1/2 qt. saucepan for the sugar mixture--smaller makes it boil over when adding the soda, and larger makes it harder to get it all out.

Very good, no problems.... I used two pots of homemade, old-fashioned popcorn made on the stovetop (about 8+ quarts, I would guess) and I made 1-1/2 times the amount of sauce so it was well coated. I cooked the sauce to 260 degrees on the candy thermometer (between the "hard ball" and "soft crack" stages) which took about 6 minutes from the point of boiling. I used honey roasted peanuts instead of dry-roasted, and split the popcorn/peanut mixture between two deep roasting pans so they didn't spill when they were stirred. Based on the other comments to bake at a lower temperature, I baked for 45 minutes at 215 degrees until it was no longer sticky and the pieces seemed a bit dry and broke apart easily as I stirred. No problems, great recipe, sure to impress as a holiday gift! It would be yummy to stir in dried cherries or cranberries for color and add a bit of tartness. It's ultra rich and sweet!

This was SO easy and SO yummy! I made some for the holidays. My kids ate it up! It stayed pretty well in a large Ziploc bag for several days. I would imagine packaging it up for holiday gifts would work well, too. Then, since my daughter's birthday is in January, I made some more for her Birthday party. I mixed it with regular salty popcorn for that sweet-savory combo. I've never seen popcorn go so fast! This recipe is a keeper!

Simple to make. BIG hit with my husband. I used molasses because I had no corn syrup and used 1/2 butter and 1/2 margarine...I packaged it in Ziploc baggies. 1 day later, the kids tell me it's still crunchy.

Okay, first, 7 QUARTS is 28 cups. That's about 6 bags of microwave popcorn. I halved the recipe and still had too much popcorn for two large baking dishes. I would say you will need three, minimum, for a half-batch, six for a whole batch. Second, there wasn't enough caramel to really coat the popcorn, even after I tossed it in a big paper bag (watch out for hot caramel on the sides of the bag!) and after it spent an hour in the oven (stirring q15). The only solution would be to make more caramel or less popcorn. YMMV. Third, a big bag is a great way to get the unpopped kernels to the bottom BEFORE you add the caramel. Shake shake shake and then scoop and transfer the popcorn to another bag. There will still be unpopped kernels so watch out! But there will be fewer. Lastly, I am a bit skeptical about whether an Amish family would use margarine. I think the poster has taken a liberty or two, but if it makes it affordable then where's the harm?

I have made this a few times now, and each time it was perfect. I tried it with molasas like some of the other reveiwers suggested, and it was great. This is one I will make again and again!

SO GOOD!! The best caramel corn I've had. Per the suggestion of another reviewer, I used butter instead of margarine. After reading some of the other reviews, I wasn't sure if I should go with the original instructions of baking at 250 for an hour, or 200 for 45 minutes, so I split the difference and went with 225 and gauged the time as I was baking. I happened to use a dark roasting pan and a light roasting pan (one of the disposable aluminum ones). My advice: If using a dark colored pan, cook for 45 minutes; if using a light colored pan, cook for an hour. Also, I just noticed another reviewer mentioned that boiling the mixture for 5 minutes was too long. I just bought new set of pots & pans that has a superior heat conductivity to my old set. I took the mixture off the heat at just under 5 minutes because I sensed it was just at the burning point. Lastly, after pouring the caramel mixture over the popcorn, don't forget to take a rubber spatula and scrape all of the yummy mixture from the saucepan and eat it. Mmm Mmm. I just might make the mixture and turn them into bite-sized caramel chews next time.

Wonderful. Everyone who tried it, loved and and there were many requests for more as well as for the recipe. Only changes I made (and not at all to the ingredients, just used the microwave to make it quicker) was add the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a large microwavable bowl, heat on high for 1 minute to melt the butter, mix well, and then put it in again on high for the 5 minutes. Mixed well, added the vanilla and baking soda, mix again and added popcorn to the large bowl and tossed together until coated, then put on coated pans to finish up in the oven. Will make this often.

Update it has been a few years since I had made this and made it last weekend at a baking party. Everyone could not stop eating it instead of putting it in gift bags and everyone wanted the recipe. I use butter instead of Margarine and with use 1/2 cup air popped popcorn per single recipe. Very good and not that hard to make. I made it with sunflower seeds. Some people really liked the different flavor the sunflower seeds made and some people just liked the popcorn.

One of the best sweet snacks I've ever eaten (and this is coming from someone who usually doesn't like sweets unless they involve chocolate!). Made this for Superbowl Sunday and our guests loved it. Tastes like Crunch-n-Munch. I used cashews in ours. It disappeared and I'm making another batch today (with Macadamia nuts). Fantastic and foolproof.

I made these as part of my x-mas basket gifts. I bought the bag of kernels (not the microwave type). I never made my own popcorn before but it was really easy. Just make sure your fire is on high & the kernels will stop to pop away! I had a hard time figuring out how many cups of kernels to use to make 7 quarts of popped popcorn. I used 3/4c of kernels for this recipe...and it didn't seem like I had enough caramel so I will probably reduce it to 1/2c of kernels. I did use the paper bag trick....which seemed to work best when I put 1/2 batch of popcorn, then pour 1/2 of caramel over it, then repeat. It hardens quickly when you take it out of the oven so you should work quickly when seperating the pieces. I also melted some milk chocolate with a little cream & poured it over half of the caramel corn. After it dried (took a long time), I mixed the chocolate batch with the regular caramel corn batch. Just like a certain gourmet popcorn they sell for $10/bag!

OMG THIS IS SO SO GOOD!we are huge fans of the Popcornopolis caramel corn from costco but it's so expensive and not always available.. This is identical! to the reviewer who said this tastes like cracker jack's you are sadly mistaken, I am not a huge fan of cracker jack's so that review almost prevented me from making this recipe. I did take some other reviewers suggestions as followed; #1 I used two bags microwaved popcorn, if you use more than that you will be diluting the caramel to thin and you won't get enough caramel on each piece of popcorn. #2 After picking out all of the unpoped seeds I dumped the popcorn in a grocery store paper bag and then poured the caramel mixture over the popcorn and stirred with a wooden spoon. #3 I greased a 13x9 glass pan and baked the popcorn at 250 degrees stirring every fifteen minutes. This is an amazing recipe and deserves 10 stars!!!!!

Love this - make it all the time with the following changes: After popping the corn in a hot air popper and removing all the kernals, we divide the popcorn between two brown paper grocery shopping bags (about 1/4 way full each) and then pour the cooked brown sugar/butter topping (I also only use one stick of butter and not two) over the popcorn in each bag, fold the top over a couple of times and shake, shake, shake. Then we place one bag in the microwave on high for 30 seconds while shaking the other bag. When the first bag is done, we put the second bag into the microwave while shaking the first bag. We cook each bag 30 seconds for the first time, 45 seconds the second time and 30 seconds a third time, shaking well in between each cook time and alternating the bags. Pour out onto waxed paper on the counter and break up large pieces. Quite a bit sticks the to the side of the bag but tear it down the sides and the popcorn comes off easily without taking paper bag with it if you run a rubber spatula or spoon over the edges. The caramel corn turns out much more well-coated than in the oven and it's super fast to make.

This came our much better the second time I tried it. If you have a stove that tends to overheat, make sure you cook this on the low setting. In the end, this is a good carmel corn, but nothing amazing.

I have made this several times now. It is perfect every time. I use the Orville Redenbacher tender white microwave popcorn. Light brown sugar gives the best results in my opinion. I used dark brown once and it made a very dark stronger flavored caramel coating. This stays fresh and crisp for a while if you keep it sealed air tight so it is great for shipping. Thanks for a great recipe.

This recipie is very easy. Taste is good as well. I gave 4 stars rather than 5 only because I prefer a slightly less buttery taste in my caramel. Also for those who thought it was chewy...if you do not get the popcorn coated it will get chewy. The hardness comes from the caramel hardening when it cools. Do your best to get it coated for best results.

Yummy and EASY! Actually, it is still baking, but I have tried it and cannot wait until it is finished. A few tips from my kitchen: *I cannot get large paper bags where I live (outside of U.S.) so I used a GIANT metallic bowl and wooden spoon...worked great. The caramel doesn't dry too quickly. *Next time I will shake in a few grains of Nescafe for a MORE caramelly flavor. *Next time I will also invest in some VERY LARGE baking sheets with sides b/c this time it was hard to keep the popcorn on the sheet when I mixed. I also noticed when the popcorn wasn't only a single layer and in clumps on the baking sheet, it didn't get light and crispy. I think single-layer baking is the best. *I used heavily salted popcorn! YUM. *I used salted peanuts and almonds...next time I will try sesame seeds, macadamias, cashews, dried fruit...whatever I have on hand. *The popcorn I used was stove cooked with olive oil from 3 days ago and it worked fine. *I have a sweet tooth and this amount of coating was great....it was light and subtle, but I decided to increase just the coating mixture by one quarter to make sure all the nuts and kernels got some sweetness. *I cooked this at 200 for an hour. I would NOT bake at a higher temp and risk burning....better take time and have success. Thanks for the recipe! If only everyone could make popcorn, build houses and respect the land like the Amish do, we'd be in a better place! Happy crunching.

Great recipe. Thank you for sharing it. The only problem I have with it is once I start eating it, I CAN'T STOP!!! Very easy to make.

I made this in my big roaster lined with Release foil so that the popcorn wouldn't stick and I'd have no messy pan to clean up later. The carmel corn was nice and crunchy - not chewy at all. I left out the nuts because of personal preference. It ate so much that I actually broke a tooth (small filling came out) but it was worth it! Mmm...

I have made this several times over the years since finding this recipe. I am now known as the person who makes the best caramel corn in town! Thanks so very much for sharing this recipe!

Incredible ... We made this last night for a party we had and it was all gone by the end of the night. Very easy to make, and simple too. Great Recipe!!!

yummy!!

This is a fool proof recipe. It has been a big hit with my kids and especially my husband! Delicious recipe...I would not change a thing. Thanks for sharing!

Amazing. It was simple and so good!

My mom taught me how to make this back in the 60's. Then along came the microwave and made it much simpler. I put my popcorn and peanuts in a doubled brown paper grocery sack. When the caramel is cooked, I pour it in on top of the popcorn, use my long-handled wooden spoon to stir it into the popcorn, roll down the top of the sack and put it in the microwave. For my microwave, which is 1300 watts, I microwaved the mixture 2 minutes on high, stirred it and microwaved another 2 minutes. This time I just shook the sacks real well (using mitts so as not to get burnt on the hot sacks), put them back in the microwave for 1 minute. Then I just dumped the whole mess onto a clean, cut open to lay flat, brown grocery sack. When it was cool it came off the sack perfectly. One caution....don't microwave too long or it will burn but every microwave is a little different, especially if it is lower wattage so it may take a little longer.

I will NEVER EVER buy caramel corn at the store again. This is the absolutely the best in the world. And so easy to make. I put my popcorn in a paper bag and poured the caramel over the top and shook very well. Then transferred it to the baking pan. The result was evenly coated caramel corn.

WOW! This stuff is great! I actually forgot to put in the baking soda and vanilla after boiling it, and it was still fantastic! I used one batch of popcorn from our Stir Crazy popcorn popper (holds 6 qts, and it wasn't quite full), and I left it in the oven after I turned it off so it would get crispier. Delicioso!

My mom used to make caramel corn about once a year, so I assumed it was hard to make. This recipe is so easy and tasty. Made for an Oscar party and everyone loved it. Will use for Christmas gifts in the future!

Made this the other day, exactly to the recipe. It came out wonderful my husband loved it. I watched the video it helped and I learned pointers. One was that when doing the 15 min. mix. returning the corn to the bowl made the mixing much easier. If a person has never made carmel corn I would reccomend watching the video.. Thank you.

Absolutely mouth watering! Huge hit at our BBQ. Only thing I would try differently next time is to not separate the chunks so much...I like it when 3-4 popcorn kernels are stuck together :)

Awesome Caramel Corn!! I too used butter and it turned out perfect. I used a very sturdy rubber spatula to stir & coat...it was able to scrape the caramel from the bottom of the pan and coat the popcorn quickly and easily. Thanks ANITALOUISE for submitting this great recipe.

This is the first review I've written on here (after being a member for probably 10 years), so that says a lot about how I feel about this... This is one of the best recipes I've ever come across. It's simple, easy-to-follow and comes out exactly like it's supposed to. And, the caramel corn is amazing! Much better than stuff you can buy! I've been making it for a couple years now, and always include it in my list for homemade Christmas gifts.

This is my very first recipe rating ever, but I just HAD to rate this delicious caramel popcorn recipe. Every time I make this, I get rave reviews from my family of bakers. I've made it many times and get a lot of requests for this awesome treat. Thank you for sharing this very awesome recipe!

Very good and so easy to make! We really enjoyed this. Thank you so much!

This was perfect. My first time making caramel corn, and it turned out great! Here's something I learned: When separating the pieces to let them cool, leave the other pan in the oven (but turn the oven off). That way one doesn't harden while you're working on the other. I used disposable pans and a little less butter than called for - will definitely make again!

This is absolutely fabulous! I have made this a lot. Everyone loves it. At Christmas I made up several batches and filled large canning jars with it, decorated them, and gave out with my usual cookie trays to friends and family, everyone ate this first, then asked for more!

Leave it to those cute Amish people to come up with this delicious recipe. Over the Christmas holiday, I made this several times and liked it best when I used already popped bagged popcorn since it was so big and fluffy compared to the microwave kind. Also, I learned that you should put the butter and corn syrup in pan and let it melt a little BEFORE the brown sugar so that it's easier to incorporate and you don't burn the brown sugar. When you add the Vanilla Extract and Baking Soda, it does start to get light and foamy, so be sure you don't use a saucepan that is too small. I also used a very large aluminum pan (about 13"x20") so I didn't bother pouring out onto the wax paper. I just tossed it every 10-15 minutes or so until it was completely cooled right in the pan. This was really tasty and delicious. I'm a huge fan of nuts but even without them, it was a homerun!

A delicious, easy recipe. I used butter and have to say, I think all candy-based recipes turn out better with butter instead of margarine. Don't give up on this recipe if it's a bit grainy the first time--humidity makes a huge difference. Try on a dry day.

Very good flavor but next time I will use less popcorn. I did not have enough caramel sauce to cover it all.Will definitely use recipe again. thanks for sharing.

WONDERFUL recipe!!! We made the caramel for the 28 servings but only used 24 cups of popcorn. Just a bit more caramel made a huge difference =)

I have made this twice now- both times turned out FABULOUS! I have had several people say this is the best caramel corn they have ever tasted. I followed the recipe exactly, except for omitting the nuts (just my preference). Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!

This was so great - thanks for sharing! I too used butter in lieu of margarine and changed to 1/3 cup molasses and 1/3 cup light corn syrup, along with Spanish peanuts (for the Cracker Jack version) and it ROCKS! This one is a keeper!

This caramel corn recipe is the best I've ever made. My family loved it. I messed up and only used 1/3 cup of corn syrup. I didn't have my glasses on. lol But, it came out just perfect. I reduced the temperature to 200 degrees as other have suggested and I only baked it for 45 minutes. It could have gone an hour, but didn't need to. I used one roasting pan and one jelly roll pan. I popped the popcorn on the stove in a dutch oven. I made two batches and used about 3/4 of it. I used a large stainless steel saucepan for the caramel and it came out perfectly. I made one part with peanuts, and one part without. We actually preferred the recipe without the peanuts. I plan on making this again for a Halloween party.

I followed this recipe to the letter. It is the best caramel corn I've ever had. Even better than the Arclight's in LA! Yummy!

This is my first time working with sugar like this and the taste is wonderful!!! Soooo much better than store-bought! Here are some of my tips: I used my non-stick stockpot and buttered the top third of it in case the sugar mixture boiled up and I used a wooden spoon so 1. it wouldn't scratch the interior, and 2. so that it wouldn't melt (I read somewhere that plastic utensils can melt when working with high heat such as candymaking). I also used SALTED butter -- again, I read that it makes a difference in the final product rather than using unsalted butter. Don't rush by thinking at first that medium heat isn't going to do anything -- soon enough the sugar mixture will behave and start getting bubbly and gooey. Have everything ready to go when you first start including the tsp. of vanilla and baking soda so that you can immediately pour them in when you take the pot off the heat. I baked mine for 45 mins. after reading other's tips here and it was delicious! Oh, I also made this on a damp day here in California and it still worked...I also found that two 3.5 oz. bags of microwaveable popcorn were not enough (only makes 2 quarts - or 8 cups - ), so I popped another quart - 4 cups - because I wanted to be sure to have a lot of caramelly goodness on my corn!

This recipe was awesome! The caramel that goes over the pop corn is delicious alone, my mom and I found ourselves scraping it from the bottom of the pan while the corn was in the oven. Thanks for the great recipe!

YUM YUM YUM! This was my first time making caramel corn, and it came out GREAT. I didn't add nuts, because I didn't have any. I ended up using another reviewers suggestion ( because I didn't have a big enough container anyway) and mixing the popcorn and caramel in a brown paper bag. It was actually really easy to mix it in there, and I eliminated one extra dish to have to wash later. FANTASTIC!

This is an update on my second time making this, so I am changing my comments. Oh, and STILL awesome! MUCH better this time! I see now I really overcooked the caramel the 1st time. 5 min. over med/low heat is fine - no need for a candy thermometer. It needs to be light and foamy, just like it says. I used just 3 bags of Jolly Time Blast O Butter microwave popcorn and the ingred. as they appear for 28 servings. (Oh, and use butter!) Every piece of popcorn gets covered nicely! This should be chewy and easy to stir, so if you overcook the caramel and have trouble stirring @ the 15 min. intervals, you didn't do something right. It definitely takes one hour @ about 240. It still may be a bit chewy, but once you let it cool, it hardens nicely. I used a large turkey roaster for the entire batch, which works wonders. This is SO SIMPLE AND SO DELICIOUS! This should have 10 stars!Thanks AnitaLouise!

WOW! This is really good; better than storebought stuff. I served it at a party and it got devoured. I cut the recipe in half and there was still tons, so I wouldn't reccommend making the entire recipe unless you're feeding a really big crowd. Just remember 1 quart=4 cups of popped corn. Thanks Anita!

SO good! I've made this three times. Twice I halved the recipe. Be careful not to cook the caramel mixture too long. If you have a candy thermometer, you can't go wrong if you cook and stir till 250 degrees.

This is better than the stuff you buy in the store. Yum! Didn't change a thing. 1 cup of unpopped popcorn = 7 Qrts.

So good! It's caramel-y goodness melts in your mouth...don't look any further and try this one. We made it using butter instead of margarine because it's blasphemous to make caramel with margarine in my house. We found 1 cup of uncooked popcorn kernels made 7 quarts of air popped corn.

Very good! I didn't have peanuts so I substituted thin-sliced almonds. Most of them ended up stuck to the bottom of the pan, so I wouldn't recommend using them. Next time I will used peanuts!

Positively delicious! Easy to make, fantastic caramel flavor, almost like cracker jacks. It's right about not worrying about even coverage when you pour the caramel over, it evens out by the last stir and 15 minute bake time. Thanks for sharing this, with the upcoming holiday season I know I'm going to use this quite a bit!

Totally addicting. Used butter instead of margarine and reduced it to 1/2 cup because that's all I had left and just decided to give it a try. My husband and I started eating it hot out of the oven and can't seem to stop!

INCREDIBLE!!!! WOW Was this good! I air popped mine then mixed it in a grocery store bag before I baked it. You might want to increase the temp while baking because it seemed like the Carmel wasn't melting until we increased our temp! Everyone loved it! Not way too sweet! Just perfect!

sooo good! thank you!

I give this five stars because of the ease of the recipe. I made two batches of homemade popcorn using 1/2 cup kernels each time and that made right about 7 quarts popped corn more or less. It was the perfect amount of popcorn for the amount of sugar mixture called for. I poured the mixture over the popcorn in a paper bag then stirred with a wooden spoon and shook. I poured the popcorn equally into three greased 13x9 pans and it cooked beautifully. The clean up was a breeze too! Still crunchy the day after! The next time I make this the only change I make will be to cut the vanilla in half or leave out all together, especially if omitting the peanuts! Fabulous recipe!

Outstanding. I decided to use Almonds instead of peanuts and added light sprinkle of sea salt and a dusting of powdered sugar when I dump it out to cool. I had to give it away immediately to stop eating it. The whole family loves it. Thank you very much for posting this recipe.

I made this for a party that I needed something to share. Have not made caramel corn for a LONG time and lost my recipe. I made two different recipes. Actually they were pretty much the same ingredients, just different quantity with the amount of popcorn. I used three bags of micro popcorn for the amount of sauce. I turned out very well. One thing for sure is to cook it for the whole hour even though it seems the corn is covered very well with the caramel unless you want softer caramel corn. I like mine crunchy. I did not have any problem with cooking the sauce. I used a stainless pot which worked out very well and really easy to clean as others suggested to rinse with HOT water right away. I also used a LARGE foil roaster I had gotten when I bought fried chix from my local grocer. It is heavy and has tall sides, perfect. I happen to have two and I used the second one to cool the cooked popcorn. I did keep stirring while it cooled because I like the single kernels. Also, if you are to add nuts or cranberries, they MUST be added before pouring the sauce over the popcorn, otherwise the sauce will not stick to any of the nuts or fruit. Thanks, I got comments from everyone that it is too good, can't stop eating. Will be making it again for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oh, I did cheat on one batch and used purchased already poped corn. BOY, does that make it super easy. The warehouse clubs have a huge bag for about three dollars :)

We made this for Christmas gifts and everyone has been raving about this popcorn. Be careful, it is addictive! As a note: I messed up one batch and forgot to add the vanilla and the baking soda... it still worked, but the flavour was missing something and it clumped together more.

THis stuff is addicting! My daughter introduced us to it at Christmas and I came home and made a batch for New Years and it was a great hit. It'll be a CHristmas tradition!

This is amazing. I got many request for this recipe when I used it as a filler for my goody bags and it ended up being a huge hit. I have double the recipe twice now.

OMG - the 5 stars isn't an exaggeration! This was crispy, light and delicious. My air popper uses a 1/2 c measure which gave me 12 c of popped corn so two rounds of that gave me just about 7 qts (28 c). I used a friend's suggestion to put the popped corn in a large paper grocery bag and shake it with the brown sugar mixture. It worked wonderfully and there was essentially no clean up. Also, I used my son's "milk free" (Earth Balance) butter substitute with great results.

I have to say this was a disaster for me! I was so excited when I read all the rave reviews. I used microwave popcorn and butter instead of margarine as others recommended, I baked at 225 for an hour. It just never got that hard crack candy coating that caramel corn needs, and the sugars actually crystalized in the oven. What did I do? That many glowing reviews can't be wrong. I gave it three stars, although no on in my house would touch it and I threw the entire batch away. I am still on the hunt for a caramel corn recipe. For me... this one just isn't it. Sorry.

Fantastic! I made this for Christmas and everyone loved it! The BEST caramel corn recipe ever!!!

If I could have given 6 stars; I would have!! This was fantastic and I do not really like caramel corn!! I am taking it on a women's retreat to share with friends next month and expect to be the hit! I did discover that using a cookie pan did not work for me...I liked the deeper turkey type pan better.

I discovered an important tip for the success of this recipe! I had to make a double batch and during the oven baking process I used my roasting pan for half the amount and a corning ware casserole dish for the other half. I got VERY DIFFERENT results! The roasting pan batch was crispy and separated nicely at room temperature. The casserole dish batch was a bit chewy and best served slightly chilled and stuck to the teeth more. The stove top portion was cooked all in one pot so that was not the difference. The recipe was DELICIOUS!!! I will do it again but stick to the roasting pan only.

I've made this several time and always get rave reviews. Certainly worth the time and effort to make!

This was best homemade caramel popcorn I have ever had. Very additive Couldn't stop eating them. I will make again!!!

Awesome recipe! The only change I made was using unsalted butter instead of margarine. I get requests to make this all the time! This is the best caramel corn ever!

This makes the most wonderful caramel popcorn ever!

Oh ye gods - simply amazing. I halved recipe, ended up having to rush, and was only able to cook for about 50 minutes .... turned out absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for recipe. NOTE TO SELF: do *not* use Country Crock - stick with real butter and watch time - went full hour and started to burn (could be the Country Crock).

I'd give this 10 stars if I could!! OUTSTANDING!! It just doesn't get any better than this! I did add the peanuts and pecans, as well, cuz I'm crazy about nuts!! I found that 2 bags of microwave popcorn was the perfect amount for this recipe. I just could not stop eating this! Perfect snack, but VERY addictive and got RAVE reviews by all!! Thanks so much!