Caramel corn is one of my family’s favorite treats, and some of my best memories growing up involve all of us in the kitchen popping popcorn, stirring the caramel, and piling our bowls high with sticky goodness once it was complete. Now that I have my own family, I can’t help but continue the tradition.
For Halloween, I decided to put an apple cider twist on my standard recipe. The result–a spiced, sweet, and slightly tangy popcorn that is hard to resist.
Apple Cider Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 4 cups apple cider
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 8-10 quarts plain popped popcorn, divided into two large bowls
Instructions
- In a large heavy saucepan, bring cider to a boil over medium high heat. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, syrupy, and reduced down to about ½ to ⅔ cup. This will take about 45-60 minutes.
- Once the cider is reduced, add in the brown sugar and butter. Cook over medium heat until butter and sugar is melted and mixture comes to a rolling boil. Add in sweetened condensed milk and spices, stirring until smooth and well combined. Cook mixture over medium heat until it reaches soft ball stage (if you don't have a candy thermometer, drop a small amount of caramel into ice water--it is done when you can form the cooled caramel into a soft ball).
- Once caramel is done, pour evenly over prepared popcorn. Mix with a large wooden spoon to evenly coat the popcorn with the caramel. Let cool, then serve.
Yummy! This looks so delicious! I love caramel corn and I love apple cider, so this sounds perfect!
If you love caramel corn and apple cider, I am sure you will love this! It is a pretty delicious combo 🙂
What a yummy sounding fall treat! And just in time for all of the hungry little Halloween goblins!
Hungry little Halloween goblins–perfect description 🙂
Whattttt this takes popcorn to a whole new level! I have a terrible popcorn obsession – Andrew’s been buying me Chicago style popcorn from Costco and I eat literally the whole gigantic bag by the end of three days haha. I so want to try this one out!!! Hope you and the family had a happy Halloween!!