While shopping for ingredients for these Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Bars, along with some other staples to get us through the week, a lady absconded my cart. Well, absconded might be a little harsh – truth is she was a bit confused and thought it was hers. When I caught up with her and she realized what had happened she looked into my cart and said “oh, your basket looks delicious”. I’m not sure what she had in her cart, but it probably wasn’t chocolate, popcorn, peanuts and brown sugar. It’s hard to beat that combination!
Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Bars:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 mini bags microwave popcorn (about 5-6 cups popped)
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- In a small non-stick saucepan, melt butter on medium heat.
- Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add corn syrup, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt and continue stirring on medium-low heat until mixture thickens and reaches temperature of about 235° F–240° F (soft-ball stage).
- Prepare popcorn and pour into large mixing bowl. Be sure to remove ALL un-popped kernels from mixture.
- Add peanuts to popcorn and stir until well distributed.
- Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir to coat.
- Line a 13" x 9" baking dish with aluminum foil and grease well with butter or cooking spray.
- Spoon caramel-coated popcorn and peanut mixture into baking dish and press down firmly with a spatula.
- Chill in freezer/fridge until caramel hardens.
- Melt chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn mixture, then continue to chill until chocolate sets.
- Cut into bars.
Don’t you just want to reach into this picture and snack on these! They’ve got satisfying crunch, sweetness and saltiness all wrapped up in one decadent snack. Until you have the chance to make some for yourself, trust me – they’re good!
Servings: 20
Calories Per Serving: 173