Simple Toffee Popcorn Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is caramel popcorn the same as toffee popcorn? ›

Caramel corn or caramel popcorn (toffee popcorn in the UK) is a confection made of popcorn coated with a sugar or molasses based caramel candy shell that is normally less than 1mm thick. Typically a sugar solution or syrup is made and heated until it browns and becomes thick, producing a caramelized candy syrup.

No need for the food processor though. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

The account @foodp*rn offers a perfect example of this view-harvesting trickery, with a tutorial for caramel candy popcorn captioned, "Did you know about this egg trick when making popcorn?!" A pair of hands add a whole in-shell egg to a smoking hot pan, followed by two sticks of butter, hard caramel candies, and corn ...

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 caramel popcorn bitter? ›

Overheating the mixture. Be very careful as you heat your caramel. Follow the recipe carefully, and never melt your caramel on your stove's highest setting—it will cause the caramel to scorch and taste burnt. Once it gets a burnt or bitter flavor, it can't be saved.

Difference in Preparation Methods

Caramel corn is made by combining sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a pot over low heat. Caramel popcorn is then sprinkled with salt once it has cooled down enough to handle.

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. Join us as we uncover these two beloved confections' subtle yet significant differences.

CARAMEL: A mixture of sugar (usually brown), butter, and sometimes salt. You can see the differences, Toffee is normally a hard, dry, sweet, and savory. And Caramel is normally at a liquid state (sometimes hardened) and is sweet, salty (sometimes), and very sticky.

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.

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.