Simple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (2024)

Jump to Recipe

This homemade toffee popcorn recipe is a buttery caramel toasted popcorn and tastes like a richer Fiddle Faddle butter toffee popcorn (or a little like Crunch and Munch, if you remember that!). Some people use the terms toffee popcorn, caramel corn and kettle corn interchangeably, but they do have different recipes. We’ll cover differences between toffee popcorn vs caramel popcorn and more!

Simple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (1)

Easy Toffee Popcorn Recipe

If you want to make toffee popcorn at home like you get at fairs or festivals, you’ll love this quick toffee popcorn recipe!

How To Make Toffee for Popcorn

How do you make toffee popcorn?

  • Popcorn
  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Corn syrup
  • Salt
  • Vanilla

(see full recipe for popcorn toffee below)

Affiliate links are used on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more in our DISCLOSURE.

Before we get to the recipe for butter toffee popcorn, here are some questions people have when making this dessert snack:

What is the difference between toffee and caramel popcorn?

You may be wondering is toffee popcorn the same as caramel corn? Toffee popcorn has a lighter, buttery than caramel corn because toffee popcorn uses light corn syrup, while a caramel corn recipe uses dark corn syrup.The toffee for popcorn recipe is made with light corn syrup, butter, and sugar.

If you’re wondering how to make caramel corn, it’s a very similar recipe, except swapping out the light syrup for dark corn syrup and dark brown sugar.

Why is my caramel corn so sticky?

If your recipe for caramel corn or toffee corn is sticky, it might be because you didn’t dry it properly or long enough. Be sure to spread your caramel corn / toffee popcorn recipe in a single layer on foil and allow it to dry completely before storing it in an airtight container.

YOU’LL ALSO LIKE THESE RECIPES FOR POPCORN:

Purple People Eater Popcorn Balls Recipe

Old School Stove Top Popcorn Recipe

Can you make a caramel corn recipe without corn syrup?

Yes, you can actually leave out the corn syrup from your caramel corn or toffee popcorn. The texture may be a little different than you’re accustomed to, but you will still have a yummy coated popcorn recipe to enjoy!

Kettle Corn vs Caramel Corn

Is kettle corn the same as caramel corn?

Kettle corn is not the same as caramel corn. Kettle corn is made by popping popcorn in sugar mixture, while caramel corn is made with butter, dark corn syrup, and dark brown sugar. Kettle corn is a lighter, sweet and salty treat. While caramel corn is just as yummy, it is a darker and richer simple sweet treat.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Kettle Corn On The Stove Recipe

Ok!

Let’s get to popcorn toffee recipe easy to make with your kids!

Simple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (2)

Easy Toffee Popcorn Recipe

This toffee popcorn homemade treat is an easy go-to for a birthday party treat or anytime you need an easy dessert or snacks for kids.

We didn’t add them for this recipe, but you can also make this butter toffee popcorn with nuts. Just add in a half cup of your favorite shelled nuts (like pecans or walnuts) to your toffee popcorn ingredients before adding the toffee popcorn sauce / glaze.

TIP: There is no special toffee popcorn machine. We use our popcorn popper like this oneSimple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (3) all the time and we love it. It’s perfect for this butter toffee popcorn recipe (and other popcorn recipes), too! Some people make this with microwave popcorn, but we prefer to pop or own popcorn.

Some people have also told me that they doubled the toffee glaze because they like their popcorn with toffee sauce extra gooey. So keep that in mind.

Here’s how to make toffee popcorn in a pan…

Yield: 10

Easy Toffee Popcorn

Simple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (4)

This crunchy toffee popcorn recipe is so buttery and sweet. You can vary the toffee popcorn ingredients by adding nuts or leaving them out.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time30 minutes

Total Time40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 10 cups popped popcorn (½ cup of kernels before popping)
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Butter a large, rectangular baking pan. Set aside.
  2. Pop popcorn. Remove unpopped kernels.
  3. Spread popcorn (and nuts, if using) in the pan.
  4. In a pot, melt the butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt on low. Stir continuously until the sugar has melted and the sauce has become smooth and thickened, usually around 8-10 minutes.
  5. Remove sauce from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.
  6. Drizzle the sauce over the popcorn, stirring the until all the popcorn is completely coated.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after the first 15 minutes.
  8. Remove from oven. Spread on lightly buttered tin foil and allow to cool completely.
  9. Store leftovers in a air-tight, covered container.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10 cups

Serving Size:

1 cup

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 228Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 223mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 27gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information is estimated. Changes to the recipe and use of different brands may cause changes to the nutritional information to vary slightly from the ones provided here.

Did you make this recipe?

Enjoy this? We'd love your 5-star review so we know to create more like this!

Cooking With Books: Recipe and Read For Kids

Here are children’s books that would be great paired up with this recipe (obviously, any popcorn theme book will work well!):

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE TOFFEE POPCORN RECIPE!

LOOKING FOR FUN COOKING PRINTABLES FOR KIDS?

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to our DISCLOSURE.

Simple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is caramel popcorn the same as toffee popcorn? ›

Although similar, toffee and caramel are not the same. Toffee is made out of just caramelized sugar and butter, unlike caramel which contains corn syrup and sometimes milk or cream. As a result, toffee popcorn is more brittle and crunchy in flavor and has a distinct buttery taste.

What can I add to popcorn for flavor? ›

The following spice mixes make a fantastic addition to your melted butter and salt in order to punch up the flavor even more.
  1. Curry Lime: 1 – 2 tsp. ...
  2. Parmesan Rosemary: freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste (about 1/4 cup, 1/2 tsp. ...
  3. Barbecue: 1 tsp. ...
  4. Za'atar: Toss with 1 Tbsp. ...
  5. Garam Masala: Toss with 1 Tbsp.
May 6, 2024

How do you melt hard candy for popcorn? ›

You can just crush the candies a little bit in a small bag with a meat mallet or something hard. Put the crushed candy, butter, and salt in a microwave safe bowl, cover it, and microwave for 30 second intervals until it's all melted and smooth.

How do you make Martha Stewart caramel popcorn? ›

In a small saucepan, bring butter, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil, stirring constantly. Working quickly, drizzle popcorn with sugar syrup, and toss. Spread popcorn evenly on prepared baking sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, until golden and shiny, about 40 minutes.

Is toffee just hard caramel? ›

Toffee vs Caramel

The difference between toffee and caramel is that caramel is made with white granulated sugar and cooked to 340 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas toffee is made with butter and brown sugar and cooked to 295 - 309 degrees Fahrenheit.

What candy to put in popcorn? ›

9 Best Candies & Sweets to Mix with Popcorn
  • White Chocolate Chips. White chocolate chips are amazing with salty popcorn. ...
  • Candy Corn. Candy corn popcorn makes an ideal snack around Halloween. ...
  • Sprinkles. ...
  • Milk Chocolate Fudge. ...
  • Oreos. ...
  • Peanut Butter Cups. ...
  • M&M's. ...
  • Mini Marshmallows.
Apr 17, 2023

How do you get popcorn flavoring to stick to popcorn? ›

One surefire way to enhance seasoning stickiness is to make sure your popped corn has some sort of moisture on it - essentially a popcorn coating. You can use a drizzle of melted butter, a spritz of truffle oil, a glaze of caramel or even toss the popcorn in a bit of melted ghee.

How do you make bagged popcorn taste like movie popcorn? ›

The secret is to pop it in coconut oil and add Flavacol. Flavacol is a flavored salt that theaters use when popping the popcorn. You can buy Flavacol on Amazon.

Why is my candied popcorn not crunchy? ›

BY THE WAY!!! make sure that you cook the caramel mixture for a solid 5 minutes so that the candy gets past the softball stage. If it doesn't cook long enough, the popcorn will be gooey, not crispy!

Why do you put an egg in the pan when you pop popcorn? ›

Popcorn at home is not hard to make. Even if you want to add candy or sauces, it doesn't require an egg. Still, some say the egg keeps the kernels from sticking together, while others say it's to keep wannabe chefs from adding too many kernels to the pan.

Can you melt down Werther's hard caramels? ›

Instructions. Melt Werther's Original Caramels with half and half, salt and vanilla in medium saucepan over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately with assorted fruit, cookie, pretzels, marshmallows, nuts or cubed pound cake.

Is caramel and toffee popcorn the same? ›

Ingredient Differences

Toffee is a product of heating sugar or light corn syrup and butter at 300F. Therefore, it tastes like light buttery, and sugary candy. The sweet buttery taste balances well with the saltiness of the popcorn. On the other hand, caramel has dark corn syrup, milk or cream, and water.

Why is my homemade caramel popcorn soggy? ›

Give it some time to cool. If it's still tasting soggy after 1–2 hours of cooling at room temperature, you may have under-baked the caramel corn. 1 hour in the oven is usually plenty. Additionally, be sure to cook the caramel on the stove for long enough.

What is another name for caramel popcorn? ›

There are many commercial brands and forms of caramel corn available, such as Cracker Jack, Fiddle Faddle, Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs, and Crunch 'n Munch.

Is chewy toffee the same as caramel? ›

This overview aims to clarify their differences. While they share a golden-brown colour and a sugary base, toffee and caramel are distinct in ingredients, preparation, and texture. Toffee, known for its hard and brittle nature, contrasts with caramel's soft, chewy consistency.

What's the difference between caramel and toffee and butterscotch? ›

When it comes to butterscotch and toffee you've got a lot of the same ingredients. They also use butter, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream, but it's the sugar that differentiates these two from caramel. While caramel uses white sugar, both butterscotch and toffee use brown sugar.

What's the difference between caramel popcorn and regular popcorn? ›

While both caramel corn and kettle corn are sweet, caramel corn is richer in flavor and texture. Historically sweetened with molasses, caramel corn is most-often candy-coated. The thin, crunchy, sweet coating is derived from melted sugar. The coating is applied after popping.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Carmelo Roob

Last Updated:

Views: 5685

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (45 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Carmelo Roob

Birthday: 1995-01-09

Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176

Phone: +6773780339780

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing

Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.