Caramel corn crunch with nuts is a yummy salty and sweet snack that can be made quickly! My grandma called it Karo crazy crunch – whatever the name, you’re going to love it!

carmel corn crunch with nuts on cookie sheet

Making this recipe brought me back to the popcorn balls we would get as a kid each year on Halloween from a neighbor. The crunchy popcorn is a bit less caramel-ly than my traditional caramel corn since it doesn’t use brown sugar and instead uses white sugar. However, the flavor is delicious.

vintage recipe card for karo crazy crunch

Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to make this delicious snack.

3 Quarts popped popcorn
mixed nuts
sugar
butter
clear corn syrup
vanilla

Instructions

I highly recommend popping your own popcorn to make this recipe. You can use an air popper or make it over the stove. The key is a popcorn with no salt or flavoring added to create the best recipe.

Prep: Pop 3 quarts (1/3 cup of kernels) of popcorn and place on a lined baking sheet or parchment paper. Mix in the mixed nuts.
Caramel Sauce: Combine the remaining ingredients (except for the vanilla) in a 1 1/2 quart sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. When the liquid reaches 300˚F – 310˚F (hard crack stage) remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Assemble: Pour the (very hot) liquid over the popcorn and carefully toss to coat well. Place cookie sheet in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool.
Serve: Break a part once fully cool (about 20 minutes) and store in an airtight container for up to one week at room temperature.

Nuts or No Nuts?

Nuts! I like the salty and sweet and the nuts really add to this recipe. Of course, you can leave out the nuts if you prefer, but I highly recommend them if you liked mixed nuts.

Recipe Tips!

Stay focused. This recipe comes together quickly but you’re working with very hot liquid that can burn. This is not a recipe I recommend having young children help with – let alone be in the kitchen so you can focus!
Use a candy thermometer to get the perfect temperature to produce a hard crack for the caramel corn. Without it you will either burn the caramel or produce a soft crack which means VERY chewy.

Making Your Own Popcorn

Preferred Popcorn: I purchase Yellow Baby Tender popcorn kernels at the Amish bulk food store. We like to enjoy a lot of popcorn in our family and this kernel has been our favorite for a little over a year now.

Kernels to Popcorn Ratio: 1/3 Cup of popcorn kernels will yield approximately 3 quarts

Preferred Way to Pop the Popcorn: I would not suggest using microwave popcorn with this recipe unless it is completely salt and butter free. An air popper would probably be the easiest. Since we don’t have one, we make our popcorn stovetop.

Put 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium sized sauce pan. Place 3 kernels in the pan as it heats. Put the lid on.
Listen for the 3 kernels to pop. Once they do add 1/3 cup of kernels to the pan and place the lid back on. Let it pop, giving the saucepan a little shake every once in a while.
When the kernels start to slow down in the popping, pour the popcorn into a large bowl.

Tip: Move the popcorn with your hands (once cool) from the bowl to your cookie sheet. The goal is to not place any unpopped kernels on the cookie sheet.

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Created by: Lynette