Gingerbread Caramel Corn
Sweet and crunchy, this gingerbread caramel corn is perfect for the holiday season! Filled with warm spices and molasses, this delicious recipe makes for an awesome homemade gift. Gluten free and vegetarian.
Note: This recipe is NOT dairy free. It was published before Cook Nourish Bliss transitioned to dairy free recipes and remains popular with long time readers. You can try using substitutions to make it dairy free, however I have not tested this myself and can’t say how it will turn out.
It’s Christmas time!! Can you tell I’m excited?
We had our house completely decorated the day after Thanksgiving. And I couldn’t be happier. There is just something about putting up the tree and all my favorite pretty holiday decorations that is just so magical.
Especially when you pair that with a roaring fireplace and hot chocolate in Christmas mugs.
Which is exactly what I did this weekend. Pure happiness.
So, now that we’ve switched gears to the holiday baking season, let’s talk about homemade gifts from the kitchen.
As you can probably imagine, I love homemade sweet treats. Particularly packaging them up and giving them to family and friends this time of the year.
And this gingerbread caramel corn is perfect for just that.
It makes a large batch, is easy to jazz up in pretty packaging and can be made ahead of time.
Oh, and did I mention it tastes like gingerbread? It’s a great combination of traditional caramel corn with hints of that wonderful Christmas-y spice.
And absolutely addicting.
Additional Homemade Gifts:
- Dark Chocolate Pistachio Toffee
- Vanilla Bean Sea Salt Caramels
- Homemade Champagne Marshmallows
- Spiced Rosemary and Thyme Nuts
- Sweet & Spicy Popcorn Nut Party Mix
Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.
Gingerbread Caramel Corn
Sweet and crunchy, this gingerbread caramel corn is perfect for the holiday season! Filled with warm spices and molasses, this delicious recipe makes for an awesome homemade gift. Gluten free and vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Spray two large rimmed baking sheets lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Pop the popcorn kernels on the stovetop or in a popcorn maker. Add the popped popcorn to an extra-large bowl (or two bowls if needed – I use two).
- In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
- Add the butter, sugar, corn syrup, molasses and salt to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Stir frequently as the butter melts to combine all the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil (with the pan still over medium heat). Once it reaches a boil, let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the baking soda, vanilla, and the spice mixture. The mixture will bubble and rise up. Pour the caramel over the popcorn in the bowls. Stir until the popcorn is well coated, working quickly.
- Transfer the popcorn to the two baking sheets and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so, which will help evenly coat the popcorn with the caramel. The popcorn coating will be completely crispy when it is done.
- Remove the pans from the oven. Transfer the popcorn to waxed paper and spread out to dry.
- Once cool, break into pieces if needed and store in an airtight container.
Notes
Adapted from Paula Deen
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 167Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 180mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 0g
Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.
I’m making some popcorn today! This sounds so yummy – love the flavors! Our house it almost all the way decorated. We put up a lot of decorations, so it takes awhile!
Ooooo, I love gingerbread and love to fit those flavors into just about everything except my coffee! Gingerbread popcorn sounds addicting! Can’t wait to try. 🙂 This popcorn would be perfect for a gift package!
All my favorite flavors rolled into one! Great idea for gifts, especially when people have pretty much everything they want already. Although, I’d probably just make this for myself.
Yes, gingerbread! I haven’t seen this flavor on popcorn before and now I really need to try it. This is such a creative (and great!) idea for food gifts!
OH I love this! That popcorn is so perfectly coated, and the flavor sounds dreamy! No roaring fires here (I miss that), but we seriously decked the halls over the weekend. It makes me feel so festive to have all the decorations up.
Oh…I can smell Christmas already. And that mug…can’t help but smile. Thanks :))
This popcorn looks so good! Random question, but where did you find your wood table? I love the color of the dark grain
We found it at Pottery Barn! It was a floor model that had been sitting for a while and was distressed a little more than it was supposed to be according to the sales guy : ) But I liked it that way!
I love the sound of this popcorn…so comforting. These are perfect for the season.
Thank you so much for the inspiration Ashley.
Have a beautiful week 😀
Just stop–you are too much! This would be my downfall. I’m obsessed with gingerbread and all things salty-sweet!
Yessss! I first made gingerbread popcorn a few years ago, and ever since then it’s become a tradition! It’s the perfect munching-by-a-fire-while-watching-a-cheesy-Christmas-movie treat! Or so I’ve heard. Ahem. From friends. Yes.
haha totally agree with what your ahem, friends, say! : )
I love the idea of homemade caramel corn as a gift idea for the holidays Ashley and I LOVE gingerbread so this is right up my alley! 🙂 Thanks for sharing other sweet treats idea for the holiday. I’m digging the peanut butter fudge with chocolate swirl. YUM! 🙂
This is just such a BRILLLLLLIANT gifting idea Ashley! Absolutelyyyy LOVED IT! It looks delicious and the flavors used are soooo festive! Making these for gifting! 🙂 Thankkkkks
I just pinned this because I want you to know I’m in love. Oh goodness, I’m in so much love!
What a great way to share the holiday cheer! I know I’d be very happy to receive a bag of this popcorn Ashley! Thank you for sharing, my friend! I hope you are having a great start to your week!
Looks awesome.. thanks for the recipe 🙂
Yum! Yum! I want to eat all the caramel corn. And add the gingerbread, what a combination.
I need a handful of this caramel corn right this minute! Ashley this looks like a wonderful gift to give around Christmas! All my sweet-tooth friends would die if I showed up with a batch of this! 😀
What a fun Christmas flavor! My family would love to get this as part of their Christmas gifts!
I used to love getting those huge tins of popcorn around Christmas as a kid. I would have flipped if there was gingerbread flavored popcorn! Sounds incredible!
I am so impressed with all of your ideas for Christmas baskets too. We were just talking about homemade vanilla extract at Thanksgiving and I can’t wait to try and make some!
Oh man, I forgot about those popcorn tins! My sister and I loved getting those too!
I’m totally with you. Christmas decorations are up, oven has been put to good use, and Christmas music is on 24/7! Loving this popcorn, what a perfect gift…for myself!! haha Just kidding… sort of… 🙂
Wonderful holiday flavour, Ashley. Love it!
I love this idea! Homemade treats are great, everyone always appreciates them during the holiday season because it’s so crazy busy and it’s nice to not have to do the baking once in a while. Pinned!
Caramel corn is one of my favorite things to make for the holidays. I will have to try this gingerbread version this year. I didn’t wait long to put up all our Christmas decorations either. I love holidays!
This sounds like HEAVEN! I was already a caramel corn lover, but adding in the flavors of gingerbread sounds fantastic. How absolutely perfect for this time of year :).
I am obsessed with gingerbread, so this is right up my alley!
I’m excited for Christmastime too! I love Christmas baking and giving away homemade gifts. Love your popcorn and gift idea inspiration — I’d be happy to receive any of them (hint:
haha noted! Some gingerbread popcorn coming virtually your way : )
I’m not really the biggest popcorn fan; although, if you smother with sugar and all these delicious seasonings, I’m in! This recipe sounds delicious! I could see this stuff being super addicting! 😉
This gingerbread, caramel popcorn looks and sounds delicious Ashley!! Think I will give this a go when the children finish school and watch a Christmas movie – perfect! Love your Christmas gift ideas, by the way 🙂
We are super excited for Christmas too 🙂 Love this time of year and all the festive goodies that come along with it! I love the sound of this gingerbread caramel corn! Would definitely make a wonderful food gift and a doubles as a festive snack to munch on while sipping on some hot cocoa and enjoying some Christmas movie favorites. Thanks for sharing this wonderful round up for more foodie gifts, it will definitely come in handy this month:) Have a great week Ashley and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Uhm, this is amazing. I so want to make this… however I’m not sure if any would make it out of the house as gifts. I have a wife at home that is semi-addicted to popcorn and would probably down it all within a couple days. Pinned 🙂
haha yeah, we usually end up eating quite a bit of it before I get around to packaging it up!
I do love homemade presents and I usually make cookies to give away, but, I think this year I might have to make some of this popcorn to give away – thank you for giving me a BRILLIANT idea! This popcorn looks and sounds totally scrumptious!
I love the idea of this Christmas spiced corn! This is definitely my favourite season, and I can’t wait to try out some more gingerbread items! I literally have all of the above ingredients here at home and the only way I eat popcorn is if it’s flavoured like that (who can say no to caramel?). Also loving the adorable reindeer cup in the background!
I love Christmas mugs – although I banned myself from buying any new ones this year!
I love gingerbread! It is my absolute favorite Christmas/holiday flavor. But when made with popcorn? Hello, even better food that I must have now!
That’s awesome you already have your tree and decorations up! That’s my project for today! This caramel corn looks fantastic and what a creative Christmas twist. I love your inspiration for Holiday gift packing as well!