Caramel corn makes the perfect holiday gift. However, almost all caramel corn is made with corn syrup from GMO corn. This holiday honey caramel corn is made with honey — no GMOs!

Why Honey Caramel Corn?

I make honey caramel corn every Christmas as gifts for friends and family. It’s the perfect holiday gift for people you don’t know very well and don’t know what to get them — because everybody loves it!

I love this honey caramel corn recipe because it’s so easy to make and it is nutritious. Yes, that’s right, nutritious!

First of all, it’s made with honey instead of corn syrup. Corn syrup is made with GMO corn which is loaded with pesticides.

This honey caramel corn recipe is also made with coconut oil, rich in healthy lauric acid and medium-chain triglycerides. And that’s not all — you’re also getting lots of grass-fed butter, which contains vitamins A, D & K2 — important for heart health and strong teeth and bones.

Most caramel corn recipes are way too sweet, in my opinion. They have more than double (and sometimes triple) the sugar than the fat. They typically call for brown sugar in addition to corn syrup.

My version of honey caramel corn is not as sweet as most recipes — but I’ve never had anyone complain. In fact, last year I was talking to my friend’s son about a Halloween party coming up. I brought this honey caramel corn to the Halloween party last year. His eyes lit up and he said, “Are you going to bring that caramel corn again?”

This recipe actually has more fat than sugar, which makes it very satisfying and it doesn’t taste like a sugar bomb went off in your mouth. If you like it sweeter, you can add more sweetener, but I don’t think it is necessary, and we try to go lighter on the sweeteners as much as possible.

The only sweetener is my version is honey, an all-natural, unrefined sweetener, which contains vitamins and minerals. Even though brown sugar looks like an unrefined sweetener, it is refined, just like white table sugar. There are no vitamins and minerals in brown sugar.

Honey Caramel Corn

Honey Caramel Corn: Ingredients

Popcorn, organic (1 cup unpopped)
Coconut oil (1/3 cup)
Honey, raw and local if possible, or you can use maple syrup, sucanat or palm sugar (1/4 – 1/3 cup)
Butter, unsalted, from grass-fed cows (1/4 cup)
Sea salt (A few pinches — to taste)

Honey Caramel Corn: Equipment

Stockpot, stainless steel, enameled cast iron or granite ware

Honey Caramel Corn: Honey Caramel Corn: Directions

1. Put the popcorn and coconut oil in a large stockpot.
2. Turn the heat up to high and put the lid on.
3. After a few minutes, the popcorn will stop popping. Listen closely and when the pops slow down, remove the pot from the heat. Act quickly and pour the popped popcorn into a large bowl (you might need two bowls). If you leave it in the stockpot, the popcorn at the bottom will get burned.
4. Put the stockpot on low heat and add the sea salt, honey and butter. Stir until blended and completely melted.
5. Pour the butter, honey blend on the popped popcorn. Toss in a few pinches of sea salt and mix it all together until everything is well-incorporated. If you have trouble getting it mixed together in the bowls, you can put it back into the stockpot to mix it.
6. Serve in bowls.

Honey Caramel Corn: Recipe Notes

If you don’t have honey, you can substitute maple syrup, another excellent choice for an unrefined sweetener. Coconut (palm) sugar or sucanat would also work fine.

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