Best Bacon Peanut Caramel Corn Recipes

DB'S CARAMEL POPCORN BACON MIX

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Arrange bacon slices close together and slightly overlapping onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle bacon slices evenly with maple syrup.
• Place the baking sheet in the cold oven; set temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake until bacon is crisp, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer bacon slices to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Crumble cooled bacon.
• Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil.
• Lightly mix popcorn, rice cereal, wheat cereal, peanuts, pretzels, and crumbled bacon together in a large bowl. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; mix brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt into the melted butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Boil mixture, without stirring, for 4 minutes.
• Place popcorn mixture in the preheated oven to warm.
• Remove the butter mixture from heat and mix in vanilla extract and baking soda until caramel begins to foam. Drizzle caramel in a thin stream over popcorn mixture, tossing to evenly coat.
• Bake caramel corn in the oven, stirring every 15 minutes, until caramel coating is set, 1 hour. Let caramel corn cool completely before breaking into pieces.

BACON-PEANUT BUTTER CORNBREAD MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Grease six 6-oz. ramekins or jumbo muffin cups with 2 tablespoons butter. For topping, in a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons butter, peanuts, 3 tablespoons bacon and brown sugar; set aside., In a large bowl, beat muffin mix, buttermilk and eggs. Microwave peanut butter and remaining 2 tablespoons butter until melted; stir into batter. Fold in peanut butter chips and remaining 2/3 cup bacon. Pour into prepared ramekins; sprinkle with topping., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from ramekins to a wire rack. Serve warm. If desired, drizzle with caramel ice cream topping.

PEANUT CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Place popcorn and peanuts in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; set aside., In a large heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, , molasses, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 2-3 minutes without stirring., Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam). Quickly pour over popcorn and mix well., Transfer to a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from pan and place on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container.

BACON CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Place popped popcorn in a very large bowl. Prepare 2 sheet pans with nonstick spray and line with aluminum foil.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, par-cook the bacon and render the bacon fat. Once the bacon has cooked, strain the bacon fat from the bacon pieces and reserve the fat. Transfer the cooked bacon pieces to paper towels and continue to drain the excess fat. Then add to popcorn.
• In the saucepan already used, add the butter and bacon fat (add more bacon fat as needed). Heat until the butter has fully melted.
• Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil and stir constantly. Continue to boil without stirring for 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.
• Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.
• Divide the mixture evenly between sheet pans and bake, stirring every 15 minutes for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
• Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

BACON PEANUT CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Pre Heat Oven to 375. Lay bacon out on a baking sheet and cook until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Reserve the rendered fat and set the bacon aside.
• Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large pot, place 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon fat and the popcorn. Put a lid or heat proof bowl on top (unless you want popcorn all over your kitchen). Cook over medium heat, shaking the pot intermittently until the popcorn slows to 1 pop every two or three seconds. Remove from heat and pour the popcorn into a bowl. (if you'd like to use air popped or microwave popcorn, that will work as well. Make sure it's a "natural" kind without the artificial butter flavor. 2 bags of microwave popcorn will give you more than enough for 8 cups.).
• Wipe out the popcorn pot, making sure there is residue and add the water, then the corn syrup and sugar. Cook on medium high heat, until the mixture turns a light amber color, about 6 to 8 minutes. You do not want to over cook the caramel.
• While the caramel cooks, spread the popcorn onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, or parchment paper (if using parchment paper, make sure it fully lines the baking sheet or the caramel corn will stick.).
• Sprinkle the peanuts evenly over the sheet. Crumble the cooled bacon over the popcorn and peanuts. You want the bacon to be in small pieces. Season the popcorn with a generous pinch of salt. (If you are using microwave popcorn that is salted, omit this step).
• Once the caramel is light amber, drizzle it evenly over the sheet of popcorn, scraping the pot with a heatproof spatula. Immediately stir the popcorn mix and caramel to coat. The caramel will start to harden and not fully coat everything, that's ok, you just want to get the process started.
• Place the sheet in the oven and bake for thirty minutes, stirring the corn every 8 to ten minutes. When you stir the corn, make sure to scrape the caramel off the silicone mat and turn it over to coat.
• Once fully coated, remove from the oven and break the clusters apart with a fork, or your hands.
• Let fully cool. Once cool the caramel corn will store for a week in an airtight container protected from humidity.

CHOCOLATE CHIP, BACON AND CARAMEL CORN COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a paper-lined plate to cool, then finely chop. Set aside.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter together with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until it's nice and combined. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl if necessary to make sure everything is incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, coffee granules, baking soda and salt. Stir together, then add it to the butter mixture in 3 increments, mixing on low after each until it's totally incorporated. Scrape the bowl and beat for a few more seconds.
• Crush 3 cups of the caramel corn in a bag with a rolling pin. Stir by hand into the dough with the chocolate chunks and chopped bacon. Crush the remaining 4 cups caramel corn and transfer to a work surface.
• Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats. Scoop 2-tablespoon portions of the cookie dough and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the crushed caramel corn, then place on the prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

BACON-CARAMEL POPCORN BALLS

Steps:

• Cook bacon in a pan over medium heat until all the fat has rendered out, and all the pieces are well browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer into a strainer set over a bowl to catch the excess grease. Let bacon cool to room temperature.
• Place popcorn in a large mixing bowl. Add cooled bacon and mix lightly until evenly distributed. Set aside until needed.
• Pour white sugar into a small saucepan and set over medium heat. As soon as the sugar begins to melt and turn clear around the edges, carefully shake and swirl the pan. Do not try to stir the sugar with a utensil! Just occasionally shake and swirl the pan, which will mix the still granulated sugar into the melted sugar.
• When almost all the sugar is melted, and the mixture is turning a light amber color, reduce the heat to low.
• Once all the sugar is melted, turn off the heat, and add cold butter cubes to the pan all at once. Carefully shake and swirl the pan until the butter melts into the sugar. Do not use a whisk yet.
• Add water and salt and use a whisk to mix until a smooth, thin caramel sauce forms. Some of the sugar may temporarily harden when you add the water, but just keep whisking until everything dissolves and you've achieved a smooth sauce. If it's not melting, turn the heat on low, and continue until it does.
• Remove from heat and quickly, but carefully, drizzle caramel sauce over the bacon and popcorn while tossing with a lightly buttered spatula. Continue tossing until the popcorn is evenly coated with the caramel.
• Lightly butter your hands, and as soon as the mixture has cooled down enough to stick together, form it into balls. Don't squeeze the balls too hard as you form them, or you will compress the popcorn and it will not be as light in texture. Transfer balls to a pan to cool completely.

CARAMEL CORN WITH PEANUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine popcorn and peanuts. In a medium saucepan combine butter, sugar, molasses, and salt over medium high until butter has melted. Stir once to combine. Bring mixture to a boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 248 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda.
• Working quickly, add caramel to popcorn and peanuts and stir to coat. Transfer mixture to 2 baking sheets, spread out evenly, and bake until crisp, 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let cool completely. Break into clusters.