Maddie Greathouse’s Carmel Corn

This recipe came from my Granny, she used to make it for every holiday. I remember there wasn’t a time during the holiday season that she didn’t have a canister of carmel corn in her kitchen. It was usually glass and full of that beautiful golden brown carmel corn. When I asked her to teach me how to make it, she told me she had gotten the recipe “years ago” from a woman in her ladies Bible study at church, her name was Maddie (pronounced mad-dee). This treat has been around as long as I can remember and it is a favorite of our family, I’m delighted to share it with you today.

I know it might seem intimidating, but carmel corn is really easy to make. I use microwave popcorn and it usually takes 4 bags (the regular size, not the mini’s) and I usually get the plain popcorn. I use a large tin roasting pan to make my carmel corn in, so once I pop a bag, I just open it and pour it into the pan, then repeat process until all bags are popped.

Once all the popcorn is popped, I begin the carmel. Don’t worry, if you can boil water, you can make this carmel corn. In a large pot (the size you’d make soup in) melt 2 sticks of butter, 1/2 cup white karo with 2 cups brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Set your heat to medium and just dump everything in and start stirring. After about 5 minutes, it will begin to get very bubbly. At this time, remove from heat. (I have an electric stove and your burner stays hot for some time, so I always move my pot off the burner and onto a cooling surface, like a trivet). Add the baking soda and stir well. This is my favorite part! The dark brown carmel will begin to lighten and fluff up a bit with the addition of the baking soda. Once it’s all mixed in, pour over the corn. Stir well to distribute the carmel as evenly as possible and place in the 200 F pre-heated oven. You will bake it for 2 hours being sure to remove and stir every 15 minutes.

Once the 2 hours is up, set your pan out and allow the corn to cool ( it will harden at this time). Once cool, place in air tight container and store for 7-14 days.

I hope you will give this carmel corn a try, it is so easy and yummy! If you’re feeling fancy, you can add a few nuts before baking. Delicious. Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe! Enjoy.

xo