Caramel Cashew Popcorn Recipe

You probably don’t know that I am a contributor over at the blog Or So She Says.  It’s a great place to find recipes, crafts, travel tips and inspiration.  Especially if you have kids.  For my very first post I shared one of my favorite popcorn recipes to date.

Growing up my dad would take our family to the local custard shop.  As a kid I thought it was weird that it wasn’t called ice cream, and didn’t know what I would get with my “custard”.  My dad would get the caramel cashew concrete, that was his favorite.  Once I tried his custard, I knew that I too wanted the caramel cashew concrete.  Since that time I have become a huge fan of caramel and nuts mixed together.  I figured if you add in some popcorn… it’s a win, win, win! 🙂  This caramel cashew popcorn will please any caramel cashew fan!

I tend to be a little scared when it comes to boiling sugar on the stove.  But this recipe is really easy.  It makes the popcorn ooey and gooey and oh so delicious!  Can you see the gooey goodness?

Caramel Cashew Popcorn Recipe

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Caramel cashew popcorn is a perfect combination of salty and sweet.

Ingredients

• 12 -13 cups popcorn (about 2 bags microwave popcorn)
• 2 cups cashews
• 3/4 cup butter (not margarine)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup

Instructions

1. In a big bowl mix together popcorn and nuts.
2. **tip** To get rid of the kernels that didn't pop, pour bag of microwave popped popcorn into a brown bag and shake. Kernels will fall to the bottom of the bag.
3. In a medium sauce pan on medium high heat, melt together butter, sugar and corn syrup.
4. Turn up heat if necessary and bring to a rapid boil.
5. Boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. (mixture will look foamy)
6. Remove from heat and immediately pour over popcorn and nuts.
7. Gently stir everything together until it's completely coated.
8. Pour out onto waxed paper or onto a buttered pan and spread out to cool.
9. Once cooled, break into pieces.
10. Store in an airtight container or zip seal bags.

I wanted to use whole cashews because I like the way they look in the popcorn.  But you could use halves or pieces if you prefer.

I filled up a couple of cute popcorn boxes so I could gift the popcorn to some people that helped me with a project at church.  They were all big fans!  This makes a great gift or treat for friends, neighbors or teachers.  You are sure to get a thumbs up from the recipients. 🙂

 I knew if I didn’t give some of it away, I would end up eating all of it by myself!

I enjoyed making this caramel cashew popcorn and now am not too scared of trying another recipe where I have to melt sugar on the stove.  I especially love that it brings me back to the time of our family outings to get caramel cashew concretes.

Did your family ever go to get custard?  What was your favorite combination?

Happy Baking!

Liz

Here are some other popcorn recipes you might like:

Caramel Apple Popcorn

Candy Corn “Corn”