Another stocking stuffer idea. Or a snack. Or just because you can! I used to make caramel corn a lot. In 2018, I brought some to a work gathering an people were actually fighting on who could eat the crumbs. And then, yesterday evening, I was in the Christmas section of Target and they had Caramel Popcorn with peanuts, or macadamia nuts, or pecans, and I though — yeah, I should make some of that! and so I did. This is Caramel Macadamia Nut Popcorn and it is seriously delicious.
Ingredients
10 cups air-popped popcorn*
2 cups roasted and salted macadamia nuts**
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200F. Line two baking sheets with heavy duty tin foil and spray lightly with baking spray.
Spread the popped popcorn out onto the prepared baking sheets. Take out any unpopped kernels or little pieces. Sprinkle in the macadamia nuts, 1 cup per baking sheet. Set aside.
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, cream of tartar, and salt in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir constantly and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the baking soda. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir gently until all the kernels are coated.
Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan and break apart large clusters. Cover the popcorn tightly once cooled.
* Note: There are a number of types of popping corn, some better for covering with caramel than others, in my opinion. For example, there is “butterfly” style, which I think most people would recognize as the “movie theater” popping corn. This is sometimes also called “snowflake” popcorn. Another kind is called “mushroom” popcorn. This type is more compact and pops to a very uniform round shape. I think that the mushroom style is better for making caramel corn and kettle corn because it is less fragile and coats more evenly. While most popcorn like Orville Redenbacher’s, Pop Secret and Skinny Pop are the butterfly style, I specifically buy Just Poppin’ brand which is the mushroom style.
** Note: Whole macadamia nuts, while fantastic, are expensive, so if all you can find are pieces, those work in this recipe as well. I used those from Trader Joes. If you don’t like macadamia nuts, you can also use peanuts, cashews, almonds or pecans in this recipe. I would not use walnuts.
