Here is a sweet, spicy and crunchy Halloween snack sure to please: Sweet & Spicy Popcorn Crunch!
This easy to make caramel corn gets its spicy kick from a full 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, which is added to a sweet caramel syrup. Pour it over a big bowl of freshly popped popcorn and salted peanuts before baking in the oven until nicely crisped, browned and crunchy for a delightfully addictive treat with an unusual sweet/spicy flavor.
To make this recipe really easy, use microwave popcorn! I used around 2 1/2 packages of buttered PopSecret Microwave Popcorn. The butter and extra salt in the microwave popcorn give the finished caramel crunch an even better flavor. Here is how you can make yours:
You can find the full recipe for Sweet and Spicy Popcorn Crunch here. If you are using microwave popcorn, go ahead and pop up about 3 bags. Pour 2 1/2 bags worth of popped corn (minus the uncooked kernels) and 1 cup salted peanuts into a large bowl and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper.
In a medium pot over medium heat melt together the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the heat up to medium-high and continue to cook until golden brown and bubbly. Swirl the pot occasionally so the syrup doesn’t burn, this should take around 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the salt and cayenne pepper then immediately pour mixture over the popcorn and stir to incorporate. Try to cover as much of the popcorn with the syrup as possible. Divide the popcorn evenly between the two baking sheets and bake for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Let the baked popcorn cool before breaking apart into crunchy pieces. Put into a big bowl, grab a blanket and turn on the spooky movies. Happy Halloween!
