Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- To make the popcorn:Add 2 tablespoon oil, or butter, and ¼ cup popcorn kernels to a large pot. (Make sure your pot has a heavy bottom to prevent burning.) Cover your pot with a lid or tin foil. Turn the heat to high and wait for the kernels to start popping.Once the popping starts, wait about ONE minute and turn off heat. The popcorn should be done popping at this point and should be ready! Pour your popcorn onto a sheet pan or baking sheet lined with parchment paper (Make sure to pick out any unpopped kernels!)
- Add your peanuts and almonds to the sheet pan and set baking sheet aside but keep it close by.
- Stirring method: Put the brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir briefly until combined, then let the mixture simmer gently for about 5 minutes without stirring. Keep a close eye on it; adjust the heat if necessary to maintain gentle bubbles rather than a vigorous boil. If it starts smoking or smells burnt, remove it from the heat. The five-minute gentle simmer is the tested method described here; no exact thermometer endpoint has been established for this particular mixture.
- In the mean time, have your baking soda and vinegar ready to go!
- Turn off the heat and add in your baking soda and vinegar and mix together. Quickly pour the sauce over the popcorn and give it a few tosses with a wooden spoon so it coats as much of the popcorn as possible. It's okay if all of it is not fully coated.Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and toss popcorn again until fully coated. Allow it to cool completely and store in a sealed plastic container for 5-7 days.
Notes
Popcorn is best eaten within 24 hours.
I recommend making your own homemade popcorn first. If you can't, use plain unsalted popcorn.
Make sure you have all your ingredients ready before starting.
Feel free to omit the nuts if you prefer.
Stirring and thermometer tip: Stir the butter, brown sugar, salt and vanilla once to combine, then let the mixture bubble gently for approximately 5 minutes without stirring. Watch closely: use medium-low heat and avoid a vigorous rolling boil or scorching. For reference, some caramel-corn recipes use approximately 250–255°F (121–124°C) on a candy thermometer, but that is not a separately tested endpoint for this no-corn-syrup version. The method here is a gentle 5-minute simmer followed by baking. A thermometer is optional. Caramel temperature reference: King Arthur Baking.
Hot sugar tip: The caramel will be extremely hot and can burn skin. Add the baking soda and vinegar only after taking the pan off the heat; the mixture will foam.