Sure you can make regular old caramel corn but why not jazz it up with some holiday flavor and FREAKING GOLD FLAKES. Guaranteed to get people talking, and feeling festive and fancy AF.
Caramel corn is one of those things that I’m not going to try and figure out from scratch because there’s already people out there who have perfected it. So I followed a tried and true recipe, and added in a few “holiday cheer” aspects. The real takeaway here is the presentation.
I started with Sally’s Baking Addiction’s top rated caramel corn recipe. Follow this recipe but read my additional steps + tips below.
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes
SERVES: 20 cups
Large pot
Small pot
Whisk
Large sheet tray
Wooden spoon
Muffin liners
Gold sheets (optional)
10–11 cups popped popcorn (pre-popped is fine or make your own)
1/2 cup of kernels
2 tbsp high smoke point oil (avocado, grapeseed)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
Make your popcorn. To a large pot with a lid, add 2 tbsp high smoke point oil and a few kernels. Place over medium heat with the lid on. Once a couple kernels pop, place 1/2 cup kernels in the pot, cover, give the pot a shake to coat the kernels, and remove from heat for 1 minute. Return to heat. Once popcorn starts popping, tilt the lid so the steam can escape. Once the popping slows down and theres 1-2 seconds between pops, remove from heat immediately and dump into a bowl.
Remove the kernels. You’ll likely have a few extra kernels at the bottom and you DO NOT want this in your caramel corn. Using your hand, move the popped corn into your largest bowl, leaving the kernels behind.
Make your caramel corn. Follow the instructions here - or use your favorite tried and true recipe - incorporating these notes:
Add in 1 tbsp white miso at the end of making your caramel and whisk well.
When you are coating the corn, I reccommend dumping the caramel on in batches, dump 1/3, mix well, dump 1/3, mix well, dump the rest, mix again. This way you don’t get big globs.
Once your corn is laid out on a sheet pan, sprinkle 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary before baking.
Assemble. Once corn is done and cooled, scoop into muffin liners and place on a platter. Carefully top each one with a small bit of your gold sheet. Serve.
Making ahead/storage:
you can make this a few days in advance and store in a sealed bag/container, but do the gold topping right before serving.
Anything else? Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and don’t forget to let me know if you make it!
Do you stir the miso in just after the butter has melted or with the baking soda?