Hello there LLK friends! I’m sharing the most delicious sweet and salty snack with you today – Caramel Puff Corn! My mom received this recipe from a dear friend, and I’ve been hesitant to try it myself because it is SO ADDICTING, and I knew I couldn’t be trusted to be alone with it! The good news is that it makes a huge batch and you can share with friends and neighbors so you aren’t left with a huge bowl to resist on your own.
So this is puffed corn! You can find it in the chip aisle, and it comes in butter flavor or cheddar – definitely look for the butter! I found it at Walmart. Unlike traditional caramel corn, you don’t need to pop popcorn and separate out the kernels. The buttery flavor combined with the caramel coating is incredible! The Caramel Puff Corn is crunchy on the outside and soft and puffy on the inside. It’s irresistible!
For a softer melt in your mouth caramel corn, try this easy no bake recipe!
To make the Caramel Puff Corn, pour out three bags of puffed corn onto two rimmed baking sheets (half sheet pan sized). On the stovetop, bring the butter, brown sugar, and light corn syrup to a boil for 5 minutes. This magically turns into the most delicious caramel! Remove it from the heat, and then add baking soda and vanilla. It will foam up slightly, which makes it easier to spread over the puffed corn.
Quickly pour the foaming caramel over the puffed corn. Give it a good stir on the baking sheets to try and evenly coat the puffed corn before it goes into the oven, but don’t worry if some pieces are still bare. The puff corn will bake for 50 minutes at 250 degrees and needs to be stirred every 10 minutes. So there will still be time to get the caramel to coat the puffs evenly as you stir. I also rotate the two baking sheets from the top to the bottom rack of the oven so that they get an even amount of heat.
While the Caramel Puff Corn is baking, prepare an area on your counter or tabletop that is clean and dry. When it is ready to come out of the oven, turn the baking sheet onto the countertop, and work quickly (maybe enlist some helpers) to separate the puff corn pieces before they cool. Be careful not to burn yourself.
You can make this recipe a couple of days in advance and store it in an airtight container. It’s the perfect snack for a family game night, holiday get-together, or to give out to friends and neighbors around the holidays. Every just LOVES it! Enjoy.
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Caramel Puff Corn
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Caramel Puff Corn is an irresistible sweet and salty snack everyone LOVES. Perfect for holiday get-togethers!
Ingredients
- 3 – 3 1/4 ounce bags of puffed corn
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 2 cups brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Pour out the three bags of puffed corn evenly onto two rimmed half sheet pans*. Set aside.
- In a 3 quart pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar and light corn syrup.
- Bring to a boil, and then cook for 5 minutes without stirring.
- Turn off the heat, and add baking soda and vanilla to the caramel mixture. It will foam up a bit.
- Quickly pour the caramel mixture onto the puffed corn on both baking sheets and stir to coat. Don’t worry if some of the puffed corn is unevenly coated as it will continue to mix as you bake and stir.
- Place the baking sheets into the oven, and bake at 250 degrees for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. If you have the baking sheets on separate racks in the oven, rotate them after stirring.
- While the puff corn is baking, prepare an area on the counter or tabletop that is clean and dry. After 50 minutes of baking, remove the baking sheets from the oven, and turn them out onto the countertop. With a light touch, carefully (don’t burn yourself!) separate the puff corn into separate pieces.
- When it is completely cool and dry, store the caramel puff corn in a large bowl with an airtight lid.
Notes
*I have tried baking the Caramel Puff Corn with nonstick spray on the baking sheet and without, and the caramel did not stick to the pan very much either way. Allow the used baking sheet to soak with hot water for a few minutes before scrubbing, and it comes off very easily.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 338
- Sugar: 35g
- Sodium: 392mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 8.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.8g
- Trans Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 1.2g
- Cholesterol: 31mg
Long says
I do love this. OH. SO. MUCH. You just have no idea.
Great for making popcorn balls around Christmas Time and sending them to your friends
Jason says
I just made these again but this time we threw in some cinnamon. It was a yummy twist, you should try it. Thanks for this super addicting recipe.
Julie says
I will definitely try cinnamon next time I make it! Thanks for the great review!
Lynnione says
This recipe is fantastic! Thank you for sharing – easy to make too. Will be on our pre Thanksgiving dinner snack table!
Carl Webb says
We have been making this for about 7 years. We use a large roaster pan and put all of the puffs in there same pan. The ingredients are the same, we bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for two minutes, remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda, stirring for about a minute. The mixture will almost double in size. Put over kernels stir to cover most of the kernels. Place in oven, remove and stir to cost kernels every 15 minutes, after the last stir, place in oven for ten minutes. Turn out onto wax paper, separate clumps of kernels, let dry for 20-30 minutes to enjoy. Will try the cinnamon the next time we make it
Allison says
This recipe is actually really good with the cheese puff corn too…. IF you are one of those people that mixes the cheese and caramel corn in this big tubs of popcorn found around the holidays. I’ve made it with butter and cheese puff corn for years. I saw another comment about stirring and letting the mixture sit after adding the baking soda and I do this as well. It creates a lot more volume which is easier to spread while mixing with the corn
Carmen says
I’ve done this similar recipe but put in paper bag and microwave a few times and shake bag
Diane says
I’ve made this recipe and everyone loved it!! I use parchment paper on the baking sheets and cleanup was super easy!
Margaret says
Made this recipe for Christmas but I had to make some changes,if you use the Temp 250* degrees it cooks the caramel to quickly and it Crystalize…..Help Please!!!
Karen DiCosimo says
This is yummy! I did modify time on cooking the caramel to 2 minutes though. Used a big roaster instead of cookie sheets (those were messy for me). Excellent recipe!!! Will be making often!