My Churro Style Caramel Corn Recipe makes the perfect sweet treat for any occasion! Simple to prepare and a real crowd pleaser!
Churro Style Caramel Corn Recipe
This easy caramel corn recipe is a party favorite for so many occasions! From Holidays to Game Day Parties, this recipe is a must for snacking on. It takes just minutes to prepare and so fun to enjoy with family and friends.
Be sure to try my Dessert Charcuterie Board too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
What You’ll Need
- popped popcorn, I used Orville Redenbacher Naturals Simply Salted bags
- salted butter– salted butter brings a little more flavor to the recipe, I generally use it in most of my baking needs.
- dark brown sugar– You’ll find light and dark brown sugar varieties when shopping for brown sugar. The dark brown sugar has more molasses and is darker in color than the light brown sugar.
- baking soda– Baking soda is a staple for many baking recipes. Find it in the baking section of the grocery store.
- pure vanilla extract– When shopping for vanilla, always choose pure vanilla. It brings the most pure vanilla flavor to your recipes.
- ground cinnamon– Find ground cinnamon in the baking section of the grocery store. It’s a spice that works great in many recipes.
How To Make The Best Caramel Corn
Pop popcorn according to package directions, remove all unpopped kernels and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Place 2 sticks of butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until melted. Add brown sugar, stirring continuously until mixture starts to boil. Once it starts to boil, stop stirring and let boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda, vanilla and ground cinnamon stirring continuously for another minute. Pour over popped popcorn and stir to coat all pieces. Transfer to a large baking sheet to cool. Serve room temperature in a large serving bowl or individual bags.
Tips How To Make Successful Caramel Corn
First things first, once your popcorn is popped, carefully check to make sure you’ve removed ALL un popped kernels. You don’t want anyone biting into those.
Make sure your heat is not too high when melting butter and brown sugar. Should me a nice low-medium heat.
Stir to melt butter then as soon as it’s melted, continuously stir the brown sugar with the butter until it starts to boil. Once it starts to bubble, remove spoon and let it boil for the full 4 minutes.
When you add the vanilla, the mixture will bubble loudly for a second, don’t worry, keep stirring and it calms down.
When you pour the hot caramel into the popped popcorn, work gently but quickly to coat the kernels. Transfer to a baking sheet to cool then you can either package it up for gift giving or enjoy in a large serving bowl.
Pour hot caramel over popped popcorn, stirring gently and quickly to coat all pieces.
Let caramel corn cool on baking sheet until set up and room temperature.
How To Serve
Serve caramel corn in a large serving bowl or in individual bags or bowls. It’s the perfect snack for any occasion, especially Holidays and Game Day Eats!
How To Store Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Churro Style Caramel Corn
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- Microwave
- large saucepan
- mixing spoon
- baking sheet to cool popcorn
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
Ingredients
- 3.29 ounce bag microwave popcorn or 9 cups popped popcorn
- 2 sticks salted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Pop popcorn according to package directions, remove all unpopped kernels and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Place 2 sticks of butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until melted. Add brown sugar, stirring continuously until mixture starts to boil. Once it starts to boil, stop stirring and let boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda, vanilla and ground cinnamon stirring continuously for another minute. Pour over popped popcorn and stir to coat all pieces. Transfer to a large baking sheet to cool. Serve room temperature in a large serving bowl or individual bags.
Think adding peanuts to this would be good? YUM!
Yes, I think that would be an amazing addition!
Hi there! I am having the exact same issue as the lady above, I even read your comment to make sure I was doing it correctly. Do you happen to use a candy thermometer? Im Trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. Yours looks amazing but the way mine is turning out is not.
No, I don’t use a thermometer for this recipe. Make sure your heat isn’t too high, bring caramel to a boil nice a slow. Hope that helps.
I made this twice and both times the butter and sugar never really combined. I ended up with oily popcorn and clumps of sugar. What did I do wrong?
Hi Tiffany, make sure your heat is at medium-low and you have to constantly be stirring the mixture while it’s getting hot. I find that when I’m stirring quick the entire time, I’ve never had any problems with the butter and sugar combining.