I can’t believe Easter weekend is in a few days. My boyfriend and I learned this year how obsessed we are with Easter Candy. We have been eating it for treats all month. Some of my favorites are the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, Russell Stover Marshmallow Eggs, Starburst Jelly Beans, Sour Patch Kid Jelly beans, and Cadbury Mini Eggs. I have noticed that stores have run low on Easter candy this year. So if you are not finding the candy that you want to put in your children’s Easter Basket this year, I have just the idea for you. Who doesn’t love caramel corn? This caramel corn recipe is really easy to make and it’s delicious! After five days, the caramel corn is still really crisp and just as tasty as the first day I made it (I kept it stored in a plastic container.)
Maybe putting this caramel corn in plastic eggs is a little extreme, but it could easily be put into a treat bag with a ribbon to put in an Easter basket. Nothing goes better with a chocolate bunny than caramel corn!!
- ½ cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup of light brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 12 cups of popped popcorn (I tried to use a minimal amounts of oil to keep the popcorn fresher longer)
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then spray with cooking spray.
- Place butter in medium pot over medium heat to melt. Add in brown sugar and corn syrup and stir until sugar dissolves.
- Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and allow sugar syrup to simmer for 4-5 minutes without stirring.
- After, stir the mixture and continue to simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. The caramel mixture will start to become a deep golden color.
- At this point turn off heat and stir in salt, baking soda and vanilla extract.
- Once the caramel is all mixed together, pour over large bowl of popcorn. Stir the caramel into the popcorn, trying to get all the popcorn mixed in. You will need to work quickly because caramel with start to dry. (Also note that as you bake it you will be able to spread the caramel out more.)
- Spread the popcorn out on the lined baking sheet and place in the oven.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. The finished popcorn will have a deep amber color and the caramel will looks a bit like sugar crystals. I usually go the entire 20 minutes because every five minutes I use a rubber spatula to break up and stir the caramel so each piece of popcorn has a little caramel on it.
- Let the caramel corn cool and store in an airtight container.
Source- adapted from Recipe Girl
What is your favorite type of Easter candy?
