I am a woman of ratios. For someone that was average at best at Maths at school, for me food is all about ratios. The correct ratio of moisture to dryness the correct ratio of salt to sweet and the correct ratio of popcorn to caramel. I always find that when I get a bag of caramel popcorn there are never a) enough caramel to coat the pieces or b) enough good nuts. I understand that for them it’s not so much a matter of ratios but more a matter of economics with ratios running a poor second.
One of the things growing up is embarrassing. We always thought that store bought was always said to be better than home-made. I think it came about as my mum was too busy working to spend a lot of time cooking. Even now whenever I give my mother some home baked goodies she sorts through them asking me which ones were home-made versus bought but now I’m know the truth and that is home made is better than store bought in many cases.
I don’t mean artisan bakeries etc but I mean supermarket products where costs and shareholders dictate the quality and type of ingredients that go into the food. If it’s home-made it’s usually made with pride and care and with a generosity of ingredients as the person making it puts their stamp on it and declares it theirs. Of course there are exceptions but most home cooks do it with pride.
This whole recipe is done and dusted in about 30 minutes including setting time. Like home-made pizza dough, once you try making it at home, you’ll never buy it again. And like me, you may find yourself smuggling it into the movies in a large ziplock bag or you can even buy these little bags from variety stores. Be prepared for some envious sideways glances though.
So tell me Dear Reader, what do you buy at the movies to eat? Or are you like me and smuggle in your own?
Caramel Nut Popcorn – Better Then Bought!
- 4.5 cups of unsalted popcorn (1/3-1/2 cup of unpopped corn should give you enough)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup golden syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup or 55 g butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1.5 cups toasted nuts of your choice (pecans, almonds, cashews, macadamias etc)
1. Line a baking tray with parchment. In a large, heavy based saucepan, place sugar, syrup, butter, salt, vanilla bean paste and heat on low to medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Increase to medium heat (not hot, sugar burns easily) and cook without stirring for 5-7 minutes. Stir in baking soda and then add nuts and popcorn and stir to coat kernels all over (I turn off the stove but use the residual heat from the hot plate to try and keep the caramel liquid so it’s easier to coat the popcorn as it hardens quickly otherwise).
2. Quickly spread it out onto the lined baking tray and allow to cool and set. Break up into chunks-but never too small chunks. You know it’s always a thrill when you come across a super chunk!
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
90 Comments | Add your own
The idea of making my own caramel scares me a bit, but this looks like one i’ve got to try. It looks absolutely marvellous!
At the movies i like to eat Minstrels. I think they are only in the UK. They are like giant M&Ms made with galaxy/dove chocolate. Its the only way hubby can get me to see his boring action movies.
*kisses* HH
Haha…I bet shop bought popcorn doesn’t have expensive vanilla bean paste in it! Delicious recipe, Lorraine, Nigella would be proud!
This is by far the best caramel corn I’ve ever seen.
I agree with you! I’m always deeply disappointed by the dearth of good quality nuts. Mmm, this is amazing. 
That looks SO delicious! I always loved Lollygobbleblissbombs but I know this will be better. Taking your own food to the movies is cheaper by far!
OMG this looks amazing!
That is such food porn – and I love it. Super dark caramel FTW!!
I ask them to mix my popcorn sweet and salty so I get a bit of each! Yours looks marvellous, I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to making caramel, I tried making a Donna Hay one last year and it was all sloppy.
Since making my own cakes and pastries so much I really noticed how horrid shop bought stuff such as mince pies were at Christmas. No contest, home made wins hands down. The only stuff that competes is handmade stuff from the farmer’s market. I send my husband to buy a venison and mushroom pie every Sunday at the moment!
hehe I generally smuggle in my own food to the movies. I’ve been known to take sushi, or dips and crackers. Mr BBB always goes for the choc top though….without fail
Yes, I’m a big fan of this – I make mine with honey (Lolly gobble bliss bomb style) I don’t know whether you’ve seen it on my blog, but I also shape it in the mixing phase sometimes to make numbers for birthday parties! Big hit.
It’s freakishly moorish though – and you really have to be strict with yourself – or you can end up making yourself ill (As A has found out a FEW times – he hasn’t learned
)
That looks heavenly.
I always take along my biggest handbag and smuggle in our own treats- either from home or bought cheaper from the supermarket.
I love caramel popcorn. When I first got here, I was perplexed to find that the cinemas only sold the savory salted one. I had to resort to making the sweet ones at home on movie nights. YUM.
oh yeah!
What delicious looking popcorn! At the movies, I generally don’t eat.
I never buy snacks at the movies – I hate extortion!! A quick trip to the supermarket or a satisfying session in the kitchen all that I need!
We always smuggle goodies into the movies. My daughter is on a strict gluten free diet, so home-made munchies are safe & cheap & YUMMIER.
Looks fantastic, I love caramel popcorn!
Looks fantastic Lorraine! I have a sweet craving now!
This is fabulous, NQN! I’ve never even considered making something like this…until now!
ooh this looks soooo good! I used to be a choc top girl all the way but now I smuggle in my foods.
Home made stuff is good provided if someone cooks well at home… and I think with the accessability to recipes and awareness given to cooking/baking…we are definitely getting better home made goodies- just look at the goodies that are being showcased in blogosphere nowadays… including this of course. Thumbs up!
i wonder if i can find vanilla bean paste in texas? i’ve never heard of it before.
You are really spot on about the home made being much better than the supermarket variety. I’ve been disappointed way too many times by packaged food.
You delight me always. Today you did it again.
I’m a complete smuggler!! My poision of choice is usually ice cream or chocolate. Peanut M&M’s or those new Magnum things… *drool*.
they certainly look exceptionally good Lorraine!!! I can just imagine biting into them…O MY YUMMMM nothing beats homemade anything!
This looks absolutely delicious!! I can’t wait to try it
My girlfriend made caramel nuts for Christmas. I ate them (read: stole them from other peoples hampers) till my head hurt from all the chewing…homemade is sooo much better than store bought.
ZMOG.
ZMOG.
Grabbing car keys now, I am out of popcorn dammit!
I’m definitely a smuggler! I’m not a fan of the movie tid-bits that is sold. This is perfect and will definitely be my companion at my next movie!! Which I hope is Shutter Island.
This looks a million times better than store-bought, Lorraine! (It’s funny, growing up I always thought store-bought stuff was better…since then I’ve changed my mind, at least for the most part.
) The popcorn bags are adorable!
I totally agree with you on the store bought caramel popcorn front, Lorraine.
Thanks for a great recipe. It’s my favourite kind of popcorn.
This looks even better than the brand Oprah was raving about on her show. I went to the store in NYC and they had a cheese flavour too that I loved.
If I find a cheese popcorn recipe, I will let you know.
Might have to hit up allrecipes.com – my go to source for American home cooking.
Oh my! That looks delicious! I must smuggle this into the movie theatre next time.
You brave caramel maker, you! This looks amazing!!
The popcorn looks great, definitely going to give this a try!
I’m a popcorn freak-o. I have a similar recipe and make it about once a year.
gosh, this looks so good…I LOVE caramel popcorn!
I understand what you mean about ratios. I always feel ripped of. Especially when it says pecans and you get half or 1 pecan. GOSH..
NQN – it should be better THAN not then [sorry I'm a teacher]. I WILL be trying it! Looks yummy!
I love popcorn at the movies – any type is fine with me so usually buy this at the cinema but byo chips, lollies etc…Will have to make this but the only prob is I am the only one who likes caramel popcorn in our family – so I will eat it all…might have to wait for a girlie movie night and make up bags for everyone!!! Thx again!
Lorraine, these are my FAVORITE popcorn ever. I love that buttery crunchy, burnt flavor of caramel, and to add nuts! Yum!
This is one super scrumptious pop corn! I need to make this for our next movie night!
So much better than you can buy! I’m picturing you at Alice in Wonderland with your arm staking out the armrest munching on this fabulous treat! Have fun! xoxo Mum
Hoo haa… caramel, eh? This looks super delicious, but I’m not a big fan of nuts mixed in pop corn (or chocolate bar for that matter), so will try just the pop corn and caramel.
Oh these look good.. I don’t normally bring food into the cinemas though.
I agree with you anything you prepare at home is 100 times better than store bought…healthier and tastier and cheaper ….
Great Candied Popcorn mix
YUM. I am totally with you on ratios–the store bought junk never comes close to having enough caramel or good nuts! We usually smuggle goodies in when we see a movie…but I have to say that although I’m usually a chocolate snob, I have a weakness for M&Ms.
Last time I had a $2 bag of caramel popcorn I ended up paying $200 for a broken tooth!
This recipe is tempting me to go there again… nooooooo!!!
This is another great looking recipe Lorraine. I refuse to pay upwards of $8 for popcorn at the movies. Even though it is good I just can’t bring myself to pay that much. I might just have to sneak a batch of these beauties next time
I tend to pop down the coles before the movie and buy a coke and maybe some snakes
I’m more of choc top kind of guy . Can’t go wrong but home made popcorn ………ooh lala..!
I really like this one when I was in Canada.. but so expensive… The one u make looks a lot better… look so fresh !
Mmm, looks good!
=O
i was JUST at paddys market looking a caramel nuts and thinking how much i wanted to eat them. I haven’t had popcorn in forever.. these days i seem to have lost my cinema etiquette and just take a whole KFC meal into the cinemas. but this is a perfectttt combination!
Making caramel popcorn has long been a Waterloo sitch for me. (I have no problems eating it, though! :p) I love the colors on your popcorn – and I love the idea of mixing almonds in!
ha my mum made us lots of food and so we loved anything from a shop but now if I went to her place and she just bought a packet of bikkies I would be unimpressed as I love her cooking now
I think if took that with me to the movies, I would be too busy eating to watch a thing. Delicious!
Hell Yeah. I would make and eat this over the ones bought at the cinema… just like my roasted nuts combo
The smell gets you in and after one or two pieces (just to try) you start shoving it in by the handful, then comes that horrific moment when you’ve just realised exactly how many calories you’ve consumed and start to feel sick, then the smell gets you in…
i’m a smuggler, for sure and for certain! i hate when the caramel is scant or poorly-distributed, or if the nut being used is the peanut. ick. your batch looks marvelous, lorraine. marvelous.
We often eat out for dinner then go to a movie so we’re usually too stuffed to eat anything but popcorn is always a stock standard. However, after seeing your luscious creation,the movie popcorn doesn’t even come close
That looks fantastic! Im so going to make some of that!!
Snack smugglers here! We’re still in a recession! ha It’s cool to splurge every now and then, but if you have fun homemade snacks like this, why pay?
OMG I want some now! I’m not much of a popcorn lover except at the movies but carmelized or Lu Hing Mui Powdered kind (in Hawaii) is to die for. You make it look so easy and absolutely delicious
Lorraine! How about a granola recipe too! ♥
oh my..these look ridiculously GOOD!
Hi Lorraine..
great recipe..looks nice and yummy..btw just wanna ask what is Vanilla Bean Paste and where can i buy it in London??Thanks!!
Oh, popcorn with caramel and nuts is one of my most favorite things ever! I’ve only ever bought it, though, never tried making it. I have to try this!!
Ha! Have you been spying? I made something very similar to yours last night, the only difference that I had added sesame seeds – (I’m addicted to halva)
Yummy.
I’m not a big popcorn eater, and the old, greasy smell of it in cinemas always turns me off even more, but good lord, this looks amazing. Freshly homemade with caramel and nuts? I think I could even sit through Titanic if I had enough of this (I have never seen that movie and hope I never will).
ohhh man, that looks so tasty!
You almost made me want to make it at home! I regularly have my neighbor over and we munch and drink wine and half-watch a movie while visiting so I know she and everybody else would be dying to eat these! Great exciting idea my dear!
I have to admit, I can never bring myself to pay for what I’m fully aware is overpriced snacks, so I always bring my own. Don’t think I’ve ever smuggled popcorn in though!
Oooh, looks great! I’m going to see Alice in Wonderland 3D on Tues with some friends, so I might make some goodie bags for us all to smuggle in
Otherwise, it’s a choice between ice cream (not the choc-top variety, but a decent ice cream from an ice cream shop), proper coffee or Maltesers, but because we are cheap-skates and there’s a supermarket where our cinema is, we get our choccies from the supermarket and not from cinemas
I want to down the caramel all by itself, looks lusciously divine!
Yum! I always attack the candy store before the movie. I hit that pick’n'mix like it’s going out of fashion. I like to have options, and a big baggie of candy and chocolate gives me just that.
Hi! I just wanted to ask…is there a big difference in taste between using honey or golden syrup? which one so you think tastes better?
Hi, im interested in making this for my little cousins birthday party…however, its tomorrow night and i’ve checked the supermarkets around my area and cant find the vanilla bean paste…would it make that much of a difference if i dont put that in?
Hi everyone! I love that there are so many snack smugglers out there. but if theatres provided decent snacks we wouldn’t have to would we?
For everyone that asked, with the vanilla bean paste, you can replace it with an equal quantity of vanilla extract
Edward, you could use either, there is a slightly different taste but they both taste great!
Candi, if you wanted to use vanilla extract instead that would work just as well
I just made this! YUM! It’s also my first successful attempt at caramel! Thanks for the great recipe with helpful pics!
I made this once and am now addicted! When I am making for myself I now half the caramel and it is still sweet and rich. I have made a bag of this (original recipee) for all my friends this christmas (some with movie gift vouchers too!) and so far it has been very well received. I added 1/2 tspn of cinnamon to make it more ‘festive’.I got the same bags as in your pics from a $2 shop. So easy and looks lovely. I love to give and recieve homemade gift-so much niucer than the commercial crap! I cant wait to try more recipees!
I have made this 3 times in the last month… it is just too darn good! Thx for sharing your recipe.
cheers!
Oh wow, this looks so delicious!
This is the BEST caramel popcorn in he whole world!!!!! Thank you so much!!
Hi everyone! I’m so glad that you like it!
thanks for letting me know!
Just had a try at making this, found it to be very sweet. Mine also does not have the shine, looks a bit sloppy. Suggestions of what went wrong?I Followed the recipe.
Hi Anna, it is a very sweet recipe as it is caramel coated popcorn. I don’t know why yours didn’t get the shine, I think it may have to do with cooking the sugar enough. When you say sloppy, I’m not sure what you mean-is the syrupy runny? Or is there too much sauce for the popcorn? If the former, the sugar needs to cook longer and if the latter, just add more cooked popcorn.
Making this again tonight for maybe the 5th time. I absolutely love it. Did try it once with the honey as we were out of golden syrup and it definitely didn’t work as well. Thanks for the amazing recipe though, it’s a family favourite (and i will be smuggling it into the cinema for sure).
Thanks for this excellent recipe. I’m thinking of using maple syrup in place of the golden syrup and using only walnuts on my next batch.
I have never made caramel successfully before but I did this recipe and it turned out well. Very addictive! But looking at the pictures, I think I probably made too much popcorn as mine weren’t coated as well. Ah well, another excuse to make this again… to get it “just right”.
2 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] The Best Nutty Caramel Popcorn recipe @Not Quite Nigella Feb 25, 2010 … It's also done and dusted in about 30 minutes including setting time. Like homemade pizza dough, … [...]
[...] sweet? Mine is garlic butter for savoury as I love garlic bread but it’s so calorific and caramel toffee nut popcorn for sweet!Make Your Own Microwave Buttered Popcorn in 2 Minutes!190 calories for 1/4 cup [...]
Post a Comment