A little bit spicy and perfectly sweet, this Caramel Gingerbread Popcorn is the perfect Christmas version of caramel corn.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword caramel gingerbread popcorn
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour25 minutesminutes
Servings 14cups
Author Deborah Harroun
Ingredients
14cupspopped popcorn*
3/4cuplight brown sugar
1/2cupbutter
1/4cuplight corn syrup
1/4cupmolasses
1 1/2teaspoonsground ginger
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1/2teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.
Place the popcorn in one or two large bowls.**
Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a medium to large pot. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is at a boil, boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the baking soda - the mixture will bubble up. Stir in the vanilla extract. Quickly stir the mixture into the popcorn. (If the popcorn is in 2 bowls, pour half of the mixture into each bowl.) Once the popcorn is coated with the caramel, pour the popcorn out onto the prepared baking sheets. Spread into a single layer.
Bake the popcorn for about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes, and rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time.
Remove the popcorn from the oven and allow to cool completely. Break into pieces to serve.
Notes
*If air popping popcorn, you will need about 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels. **The caramel will stick to a glass bowl, so I prefer to use plastic or stainless steel. If using glass, you may want to spray the bowl with nonstick cooking spray so the caramel doesn’t stick.Recipe source: Taste of Home