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Buffalo Wing Caramel Popcorn

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: buffalo wing, butter, caramel corn, Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, popcorn
Servings: 6 people
Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

  • Nonstick oil spray
  • 8 cups popped popcorn from 1/2 cup of kernels (plain, not buttered or salted)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cold tap water
  • 1/4 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly coat parchment and a large bowl with nonstick spray. Add popcorn to the bowl. Set baking sheet and popcorn aside.
  • Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. DO NOT USE A SPOON OR OTHER UTENSIL TO STIR THE SUGAR. Simply swirl the pan occasionally, until caramel is a deep amber color, 10–12 minutes.
  • Remove caramel from the heat. Stir in hot sauce and butter (mixture will bubble vigorously). Return caramel to the burner on LOW heat and cook another 3 minutes, being careful not to burn the mixture. Remove from heat again and stir in salt and baking soda.
  • Then, working quickly so the buffalo caramel doesn’t harden, pour it over the popcorn and mix with a spatula until combined. Transfer popcorn to the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet and bake. After 10 minutes, toss the popcorn using a spatula or tongs. Continue to bake popcorn for 5-10 minutes more, until dry (should be mostly hard but if not the sauce will continue to harden while cooling outside of the oven). Total cooking time 15–20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
  • Place Buffalo Wing Caramel Popcorn in a large bowl and dig in!

Notes

Store any leftover popcorn in an airtight container.
Buffalo Wing Caramel Popcorn has a decent kick, but if you want to amp it up, add a pinch of cayenne when adding the baking soda and salt.