I have a backlog of photos to upload and never seem to have enough hours in the day. I meant to spend yesterday afternoon visiting venues, but work had other plans and I ended up stuck at my desk. Such is life.
But enough about my schedule—let’s talk about caramel. Many caramel recipes call for a candy thermometer, which I don’t own. This version doesn’t need one and yields a soft, dippable caramel reminiscent of a childhood favorite. Do you remember the small white tubs of caramel sold next to apples at the grocery store? I used to beg my mom for one and she’d occasionally give in. That felt like a small victory.
After making the caramel I mixed some with plain popped popcorn. I simply microwaved the popcorn without seasoning and poured the warm caramel over it while stirring constantly. The only downside was that the popcorn became chewy rather than staying crisp. If you know how store-bought caramel popcorn stays crunchy, I’d love to hear—perhaps this softer caramel isn’t ideal for coating popcorn.
At least it looked beautiful even if the texture wasn’t perfect.
One tip: remove any unpopped kernels before mixing in the caramel so nobody risks breaking a tooth. The recipe below is adapted from Pretty Providence.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup light Karo syrup
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Directions
- Melt all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the mixture reaches a boil, continue cooking for approximately two minutes, stirring constantly.
I saved some caramel for dipping apples, which was far better than the popcorn.
This caramel stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks—if it lasts that long!