Chocolate Caramel Popcorn is perfect to give in Christmas tins but it's also perfect to snack on during movies any time of year. It's easy to make and it also makes great gifts!
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Chocolate Caramel Popcorn
Making homemade chocolate caramel popcorn is surprisingly easy and doesn't take very long to make.
There are only just a few ingredients to make this incredibly flavorful snack.
Ingredients in Chocolate Caramel Popcorn
- Popcorn - Not the butter variety, I prefer to use salt & oil
- Salted Butter -gives the caramel a nice flavor
- Light Brown Sugar
- Light Corn Syrup
- Sea Salt (optional)
- Dark Chocolate- melting chocolate for coating
That's it, just a few ingredients and a little bit of time to make this tasty holiday treat!
How to Make Chocolate Caramel Popcorn
The first step to making this popcorn snack is to pop the popcorn! Either by using unpopped popcorn kernels or by popping the popcorn in the bags.
Either way that you choose to prepare your popcorn, I find that using a salt and oil variety tastes absolutely wonderful with this chocolate and caramel combination. Of course, you can use a butter variety and that is completely up to you.
Once the popcorn is popped, add it to a very large bowl. That way, when you add in the caramel mixture it will be easy to turn and coat the popcorn inside the bowl without making a mess. If a very large bowl isn't available, you can always work in small batches.
In a small saucepan, the butter is melted and the light brown sugar is stirred in. Once the brown sugar melts completely, add the corn syrup, and turn up the heat to a low boil.
Allow the mixture to boil for about 4 minutes before removing it from the heat. At this point, the mixture is CAREFULLY poured over the popcorn a little at a time and the popcorn is stirred after each addition of the caramel mixture.
Once it is all mixed well, the coated popcorn is transferred to a cookie sheet and it is baked in the oven for 30 minutes. After each 10-minute increment, the mixture is stirred.
Once the caramel popcorn comes out of the oven at this time the sea salt is then sprinkled onto the mixture if you are using it.
TIP: Use parchment paper to line the baking sheet so that it doesn't stick to the cookie sheet. It's easy to cleanup, too!
Did you know you can make popcorn on your Blackstone Grill? Check out this Blackstone Caramel Popcorn recipe.
RELATED: Caramel Gingerbread Popcorn
Chocolate Coated Popcorn
To coat the caramel popcorn after it is out of the oven to create chocolate covered popcorn, you will need to wait a few minutes for the caramel popcorn to harden and to cool. It doesn't take long to do so, just a couple of minutes. Melting the dark chocolate can be done while waiting for it to cool to save time.
Half of the caramel popcorn mixture is added back into the large bowl and a dark chocolate bar is melted according to the directions on the package. It is then drizzled over the popcorn and stirred to coat.
To make the process quicker for the chocolate popcorn to harden, place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before taking it out and mixing it in with the caramel popcorn.
Once it is all mixed, store the popcorn in an airtight container so that it doesn't go stale.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Peanut Butter Balls
Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Makes a Great Gift
This recipe for chocolate caramel popcorn makes 16 cups and it's a great way to make homemade Christmas treats as gifts in bulk! Dividing the popcorn into gift tins or bags is easy to do and it's a festive treat to give during the holidays.
Whichever way you choose to give this chocolate caramel popcorn as gifts, make sure to create an airtight seal for maximum freshness.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Caramel Popcorn
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 cups popcorn
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
To create chocolate popcorn
- 4 ounces dark chocolate - melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Pop 10 cups of popcorn and place in a very large bowl.
- In a small saucepan, melt the salted butter.
- Add in the light brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Bring the mixture to a low boil and add the corn syrup.
- Boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Carefully remove the saucepan from the heat and pour a little at a time onto the popcorn.
- Stir the popcorn and repeat. Take extra caution as the mixture and the saucepan will be very hot.
- Stir to coat well and transfer the popcorn to the parchment paper-lined in a single layer.
- Sprinkle the popcorn with sea salt.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Stir the popcorn every 10 minutes.
Chocolate Popcorn- After the popcorn comes out of the oven and has cooled, transfer half the popcorn to a large bowl.
- Melt a dark chocolate melting bar or chips according to the directions on the package.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn and stir to coat well.
- Allow the chocolate to harden. Place the chocolate-covered caramel popcorn in the refrigerator will be quicker.
- Once the chocolate has hardened, stir the two types of popcorn together.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
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