This Caramel Apple Popcorn is the best of caramel corn and caramel apples, combined. The perfect fun fall treat to add to your Halloween weekend. 

Fall is officially in full swing!  We are one week out from Halloween, which I am so excited about, and there is just something magical and inspiring about this time of year. This Caramel Apple Popcorn is perfect for getting in the fall spirit. There’s a reason that everyone loves autumn and I am no exception to that!

Caramel corn is one of my favorite things to make come fall.  My Cocoa Porter Caramel Corn from last year is always a huge hit and so is this recipe!  Apples and caramel go together like peanut butter and jelly, so it only makes sense to combine them into caramel corn.

I always dry pop my popcorn in the microwave, especially for recipes like this.  It’s so much cheaper to buy a bag of kernels and season themselves than to buy chemical-laden bags of popcorn. Yuck!  Check out these instructions on how to pop them in the microwave with no oil!

The secret ingredient to this caramel corn is ground freeze-dried apples.  I use a whole 1.7 oz bag for a batch and grind them in a coffee grinder, but you could also crush them in a food processor, blender, or with a mortar & pestle!

Ingredients & Subs

butter

brown sugar

salt

light corn syrup

baking soda

popcorn

freeze-dried apples

How to Make

Preheat oven to 200ºF. Over medium heat, combine the first 4 ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and dried apple powder. Stir well. Pour over the popcorn. Stir to coat well. Bake in a large roaster or pan for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on parchment paper to dry.

How to store

After the Caramel Popcorn has cooled, store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

Hot Tip

When you initially pour the caramel over the popcorn, don’t stress too much about getting every kernel completely coated.

As the caramel corn cooks in the oven, the caramel will become looser and will continue to coat as you toss throughout the cooking. Pro tip: Give the whole pan a good dose of sea salt before it cools. 

More Apple Recipes You’ll Love!

Apple Crisp Cookies

Baked Apple Cinnamon Powdered Pumpkin Donuts

Apple Pierogy Bites with Creme Fraiche

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Chicken Apple Stuffing

Apple Cinnamon Oat Breakfast Cookies

originally published Oct 24, 2015 

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Take a browse around the site and please let me know if you make anything by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or requests!

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Caramel Apple Popcorn

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This Caramel Apple Popcorn is the best of caramel corn and caramel apples, combined. The perfect fun fall treat to add to your Halloween weekend.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 cups popped popcorn
• 1/2 cup ground freeze-dried apples

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF.
   
2. Over medium heat, combine the first 4 ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and dried apple powder. Stir well. Pour over the popcorn. Stir to coat well. Bake in large roaster or pan for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on parchment paper to dry

Notes

See the blog post above.

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