Ingredients
Scale
- 2 T neutral oil (corn, vegetable, safflower, etc)
- ½ cup popping corn kernels
- ½ cup REAL maple syrup
- 4 T butter
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup small pretzel twists *
- 3/4 pecans, roughly chopped *
- 1 cup candy corn *
- ½ cup M&Ms candies *
- *Optional add-ins, see post of possible substitutions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lined a large, rimmed baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Place the oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels and cover the pot with a lid. Keeping hold of the lid, shake the pan back and forth over the burner. (Protect your hand with a potholder if the lid gets hot.) Keep shaking as the corn begins to pop, continue until the popping slows and you can count to three between pops.
- Remove pot from heat. Pour the popped corn into a large bowl, removing any burnt or unpopped kernels. Stir the pretzels and pecans into the bowl. (If you’re subbing other add-ins, you can add anything that won’t melt or get soft at this point.). Set bowl aside.
- Place maple syrup and butter into a pan on stove, over medium heat, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the mixture reaches approximately 225 degrees. (Use a digital instant-read thermometer or candy thermometer to measure temperature.) Stir in salt and baking soda. Caramel will foam slightly.
- Remove pan from the stove and immediately pour the hot caramel sauce over the popcorn, pretzels, and nuts. Stir to coat evenly.
- Spread caramel corn onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before stirring in the candy corn and M&Ms.
- Store in a plastic zipper bag or covered bowl or bin.