I received this homemade Salted Caramel Popcorn as a Christmas present this past year and after one bite I had to have the recipe.

Get ready for an irresistible snack! This Salted Caramel Popcorn recipe delivers a classic movie theater favorite right to your kitchen, boasting a perfect balance of sweet, salty, and buttery caramel coating over crispy popcorn, with an optional nutty crunch.

Salted Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

Instructions:

1. Prep for Baking: Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Pop the Popcorn: In a large, lidded saucepan (one that can hold about 12 cups of popped corn), warm 3 popcorn kernels with the 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Once those three kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels to the pan and shake to coat them evenly with the oil. Put the lid on the pan. Continue to pop the corn, shaking the pan occasionally, until the popping slows down to a few seconds between pops. If you don’t have a pan large enough for all the popcorn, make it in two batches.
3. Prepare Popped Corn: Empty the popped corn into a large mixing bowl. Try to remove as many unpopped kernels as possible to ensure they don’t end up in your final mix.
4. Make the Caramel Sauce: In a separate medium saucepan, melt the 1 cup of salted butter. Once melted, stir in the 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1/2 cup of maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Stir until the sugar is completely moistened and dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and boil for 3-4 minutes without stirring.
5. Finish Caramel: Remove the saucepan from the heat. Quickly add the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the caramel mixture, stirring vigorously until you have a thick, even, and glossy sauce.
6. Coat Popcorn: Slowly pour the hot caramel sauce over the popcorn in the large mixing bowl, stirring the popcorn constantly to coat it evenly. This step is easier with two people! If you’re using them, add the whole almonds to the popcorn at the same time as the caramel sauce, stirring to combine. Continue to stir until all the popcorn and nuts are well coated.
7. Bake the Caramel Popcorn: Divide the coated popcorn evenly between the two prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt on top. Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring the popcorn every 10 minutes or so to ensure even baking and crispness.
8. Cool and Serve: Allow the popcorn to cool completely on the baking sheets. As it cools, you can use buttered fingers to clump the popcorn and nuts together to form small bunches, if desired.