Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn for #HalloweenTreatsWeek

This post and recipe was created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.

Really really good! It’s got the perfect amount of crunch for caramel popcorn infused with the Fall pumpkin flavor! Made it this morning for a Fall/Halloween snack and loved it!

Reader Kristin

Caramel Popcorn Is The Best

Who doesn’t love it, right?

I used to make enormous quantities of caramel corn at the restaurant–we made it spicy and salty because it was a bar snack. It was hard to stop eating.

I am here to tell you that caramel corn is pretty easy to make, so if you’ve never made it, stick with me. I will help you out, and then you won’t need to spend money on brands like Fiddle Faddle or Cracker Jack, because you can make your own!

What Makes This Recipe Work

Oftentimes, caramel corn doesn’t contain enough salt, so I find the flavor too sweet and a little flat.

This recipe has plenty of salt in it to make the pumpkin spice really sparkle.

You also get a double dose of pumpkin spice, both in the candied pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and in the caramel mixture itself.

I make sure to give measurements for plenty of the caramel “goo” so you don’t end up with any popcorn sad and naked and goo-less.

It also gets a trip through a low oven. Every 15 minutes or so, you give it a good stir. This makes double sure that all your popcorn gets coated with the caramel.

You don’t need a candy thermometer to make this–all you need is a timer.

What You’ll Need

Aside from the candied pumpkin seeds (recipe coming soon) and the actual popped popcorn, here’s what you’ll need to make the caramel corn:

• butter: use unsalted butter here. You’ll be adding a good amount of salt, so you don’t want to end up with too much
• brown sugar: adds sweetness and together with the butter, makes a butterscotch base (so technically it’s not caramel corn but butterscotch corn) I used Dixie Crystals, our sponsor brand. Thank you!
• corn syrup: keeps the mixture from crystallizing
• salt: brings out the flavor not only in the butterscotch mixture but in the pumpkin spice
• pumpkin spice: you can substitute apple pie spice or homemade pumpkin pie spice, which is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. You can also add a touch of clove if you like
• baking soda: makes the mixture “puff up” like shaving cream when you mix it it, making it easy to spread and coat the popcorn. It reacts with the molasses in the brown sugar, creating a ton of bubbles so that when it sets up, it’s not as hard as a rock. We don’t want broken teeth!

Procedure

Once you have your ingredients gathered and measured (plus the popped corn and the candied pumpkin seeds), making the actual candy doesn’t take too long.

Your finished caramel corn stays in the oven for about an hour, but you only need to worry about it every 15 to 20 minutes.

Here’s what you’ll do:

1)

First, spread your popcorn out into two large pans. I used a 9″ x 13″ pan and a 12″ x 15″ pan I happened to have from my cake baking days.

You can use 2 9″ x 13″ pans with no problem.

2)

Melt the butter and then add the rest of the “goo” ingredients to your pan.

Bring it to a boil, stirring frequently, and allow to boil for 5 minutes.

3)

Pour half the caramel mixture over each pan of popcorn and candied pepitas and stir them together as well as you can.

4)

Bake in a low oven, stirring every 15-20 minutes to make sure the popcorn in evenly coated with the caramel.

Once the corn is done, dump out both pans onto a large Silpat (the one pictured is a full sheet size). Allow it to cool, breaking it up as it does so you don’t get huge clumps of popcorn.

Tips and Tricks

Like most candy, caramel corn doesn’t really like to be made on a humid day, so save this recipe for a nice, sunny day.

It is best served the day you make it, but it will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container or containers.

PRO TIP: If it does start to soften up, you can refresh it by spreading it on a sheetpan and baking it for about 5 minutes at 350F. It will recrisp as it cools.

If you don’t want to pop your own corn, you can start with microwave popcorn or with storebought bags of popcorn.

PRO TIP: Whether or not you pop your own corn, start with plain popcorn. I cook mine on the stove top, but you can also use an air popper.

My favorite fat to pop corn in is coconut oil. It gives me that lovely old-school movie theater popcorn flavor. Other fats to consider:

• vegetable oil
• melted shortening
• avocado oil (high smoke point, which makes it especially good)
• ghee or clarified butter (higher smoke point than whole butter)

PRO TIP: Avoid popping your corn in all butter because the milk solids can burn. You can use a mixture of half coconut oil and half butter. That works just fine.

After you pop your corn make sure to sift through and get out all the unpopped kernels. Broken teeth are not what we want, so take a moment to ensure your popcorn is kernel-free.

If you don’t like pumpkin seeds, you can leave them out or substitute peanuts, sunflower seeds, or your favorite nut/s. For larger nuts, chop them so none are larger than a peanut.

Caramel Corn Q & A

Questions?

If you have a question/questions about this or any other post, whether recipe or technique, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’m happy to help.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I will respond within 24 hours. If you need an answer more urgently, please email me, and I will respond within about 4 hours (unless I’m sleeping) and often much more quickly than that.

Either way, I will answer as completely as I can. That’s why I’m here!

More Homemade Halloween Treats

If you love making candy, you can’t go wrong with my butterscotch hard candy or my crunchy Butterfinger bars.

If you’d rather have baked Halloween treats, you may enjoy my Candy Corn Cupcakes or my Halloween Eclair Cake.

And if you’re just sugared out, give my Halloween deviled eggs or smashed potato eyes a try!

A Note About Measurements

NOTE: Most of my recipes are written by weight and not volume, even the liquids.

Even though I try to provide you with volume measurements as well, I encourage you to buy a kitchen scale for ease of measuring, accuracy, and consistency.

This is the scale I use, love, and recommend. If you’re unsure, please read my post about how to use a food scale.

Don’t forget to keep scrolling beyond the recipe so you can get all the other recipes for #halloweentreatsweek and so you can enter the giveaway!

Halloween Treats Week Recipes for Today

Halloween Cookies & Bars:

• Meringue Witch Finger Cookies from BigBearsWife
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles from Devour Dinner
• Shortbread Witches Fingers from The Flour Handprint
• Gingerbread Mummy Cookies from 4 Sons R Us

Halloween Breakfast:

• Hocus Pocus Mini Pancake Cereal from Fresh Coast Eats

Halloween Pies:

• Count Chocula Cream Pie from Sweet ReciPEAS

Sweet Halloween Treats:

•  Individual Halloween Parfaits from Tastes of Homemade
• Radioactive Jell-O Shots from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Spiced Caramel Corn from Pastry Chef Online (you’re here!)
• Halloween Strawberry Ghosts from I am a Honey Bee
• Easy Pumpkin Pudding Dip from Love and Confections
• Screamsicle Milkshake from For the Love of Food

 

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Season is here and it is time for 2020’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event! #HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  & its a creepy and haunting week-long event is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats, recipes and some frightfully fun giveaways.

“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween.”

For the 3rd annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 30 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! Follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media and look at the bottom of each post to see all of the Halloween recipes that we’re sharing!

Plus, don’t forget that we have some great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsor and bloggers this year!  

Prize #1 from Dixie Crystals

OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set

 

Prize #2 from Angie at BigBearsWife 

Ninja OP301 Foodi 9-in-1 Pressure, Slow Cooker, Air Fryer and More, with 6.5 Quart Capacity and 45 Recipe Book, and a High Gloss Finish

Prize #3 from Nicole Taggart’s Origami Owl Jewelry Bar

Origami Owl Locket and Halloween Charms

 

Prize #4 from Kathy at Lemon Blossoms 

6 Quart Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker

 

Prize #5 from Terri at Our Good Life

Young Living’s Thieves Mints ($50 Value)

Pop a Thieves Mint into your mouth for cinnamint-fresh breath after meals. Made with naturally derived ingredients and free of artificial sweeteners, dyes, and preservatives, Thieves Mints are a choice you can feel good about. Created with Young Living’s Thieves essential oil blend, these mints deliver minty coolness with a hint of warm, sugar-free sweetness. Thieves Mints come in a conveniently sized container that is great to take on the go!!

 

Prize #6 from Julie  at Back To My Southern Roots

1 Copy of  – The Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious Dishes for Kids to Make with Their Favorite Grown-Ups

 

Prize #7 from Peabody of Sweet ReciPEAS

1 Copy of her new cookbook “Holy Sweet! 60 Indulgent Recipes for Bigger, Better Desserts”

 

Prize #8 from Megan of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen

1 Copy of her cookbook, “Incredible One-Pot Cooking: Easy, Delicious Recipes for Exciting Meals Without the Mess”

 

Prize #9 from Nicole of For the Love of Food Blog

1 Copy of “Friends: The Official Cookbook”

 

Prize #10 from Michaela from An Affair from the Heart, Jennifer from Take Two Tapas and Michele from West Via Midwest

ONE (1) $75 Amazon gift card

 

Prize #11 from Shanaka from It’s Shanaka

ONE (1) $25 Amazon gift card

 

Prize #12 from Ashley from Cheese Curd In Paradise

1 Copy of her cookbook, ” The Serial Killer Cookbook: True Crime Trivia and Disturbingly Delicious Last Meals from Death Row’s Most Infamous Killers and Murderers”

 

Prize #13 from Amy from House of Nash Eats

ONE (1) $100 Amazon gift card

  a Rafflecopter giveaway   Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from October 5th – October 10th at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 14 prizes and therefore we will have a total of 14 winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #HalloweenTreatsWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing brand sponsors: Dixie Crystals that provided a prize pack for our giveaways and also sent some samples and products to the #HalloweenTreatsWeek bloggers to use in their recipes. We would also love to give a huge thanks to our Halloween Treats Week bloggers because a lot of them also donated prizes for the giveaways, including:  Angie of BigBearsWife ,  Nicole of Nicole Taggart’s Origami Owl Jewelry Bar, Kathy of Lemon Blossoms,  Terri of Our Good Life,  Julie of Back To My Southern Roots,  Peabody of Sweet ReciPEAS, Megan of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen, Nicole of For the Love of Food Blog, Michaela of An Affair from the Heart, Jennifer of Take Two Tapas , Michele of West Via Midwest, Shanaka of It’s Shanaka, Ashley of Cheese Curd In Paradise, and Amy from House of Nash Eats!