Crunchy Salty Sweet

You read that ^ correctly. We’re putting buffalo wing in our caramel corn, and we’re not going to apologize. In fact we’re going to wonder why we haven’t always done this for all of time!!

Now – before I get to the delight that is spicy caramel, let me give you some context. As you all (most) know, the Oscars are coming up on Sunday Feb 28 (woo!!), and I happen to be a huge fan of all things Oscars. Well, I’m a big fan of having an excuse to basically have a second super bowl feast…same thing.

Two years ago (pre-blog) I made a delicious spread of amped up chex mix (with cheez-its and cheddar popcorn), turkey burger sliders, (packaged, because I mean come on) tater tots, red carpet (velvet) donuts, lots of candy, and of course rose champagne.

Then last year I made a spread with: Meat and cheese (hello), Asian turkey meatballs, my bomb diggity chocolate chip cookies, candy (of course), champagne (of course) and let’s not forget, one of my all-time favorite popcorns: Garlic Parmesan Popcorn.

This year I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my menu, and I know this will come as a shock, but I knew popcorn would, most definitely, be on it.

I had seen this recipe for buffalo wing popcorn a few times and kind of stored it in the back of my mind…and it instantly came to the forefront when I thought about good Oscar party food! The basis for this popcorn recipe is actually caramel corn, the slight modification, is that Frank’s red hot sauce is added to the caramel before it’s doused over the popcorn. It’s spicy, and buttery, and sweet and caramel-y all at once…and you 100% need to make it ASAP!

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

You’re going to need about 8 cups of popped popcorn to make this recipe. I like to pop it on the stove via my go-to method (you’ll need 1/2 cup of kernels to get 8 cups).

Pour the popcorn into a large bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Note: the bowl pictured is not big enough, I actually ended up swapping it out for the large one to be safe.

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium to large saucepan, cook the water and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and bring it to a boil.

Once boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally. You’ll want the caramel to be a medium amber color (about the color of brown butter right when you take it off the heat)

Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the Frank’s and butter. It will be extremely bubbly.

Place pan back over the heat and boil for 3 more minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat again, and stir in the salt, cayenne, and baking soda. Work quickly, the caramel will begin to foam up a bit.

Pour over the popcorn and toss to coat. Don’t worry if you don’t get all of the popcorn.

Spread the popcorn onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Toss the popcorn once during the cooking time.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.

Try to maintain your composure while shoveling the popcorn into your mouth.

And whatever you do, definitely don’t dip the popcorn in blue cheese…

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Adapted from: Bon Appetit

Makes: 10-12 servings

Prep: 5 minutes, Cook: 30 minutes, Total: 35 minutes

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 8 cups popped plain popcorn (from ½ cup kernels)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Original sauce
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Pour the popcorn into a large bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium to large saucepan, cook the water and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally. You’ll want the caramel to be a medium amber color.

Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the Frank’s and butter. It will be extremely bubbly.

Place pan back over the heat and boil for 3 more minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat again, and stir in the salt, cayenne, and baking soda. Work quickly, the caramel will begin to foam up a bit. Pour over the popcorn and toss to coat. Don’t worry if you don’t get all of the popcorn.

Spread the popcorn onto the baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Toss the popcorn once during the cooking time.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.