Lemon Tree Dwelling

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Birthday Cake Caramel Corn

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 White caramel corn with rainbow sprinkles – a fun, delicious birthday treat, and a great alternative to birthday cake!
It’s that time of year again….BIRTHDAY SEASON!! Around here, we spend most of the summer celebrating our kids’ birthdays (I used to work in a school, so summer birthdays were a must….) Starting next weekend, we celebrate Nora’s birthday on the 8th, Ellia’s birthday on the 30th, and Greta’s birthday on August 14th! Which means lots of presents, lots of balloons, and lots and lots of treats!

Don’t get me wrong….there is never a shortage of treats around here… But I always feel like birthday treats should be extra special. Like homemade cupcakes with lots of sprinkles, ice cream sundaes with whipped cream and cherries, ooey gooey rice krispie treats with chocolate on top….you get the picture. Birthdays are supposed to be extravagant!!

So with “birthday season” just around the corner, I’ve been busy coming up with some EXTRAVAGANT new birthday desserts. Like Birthday Cake Oreo Blondies…and now this fun Birthday Cake Caramel Corn! I actually made it just this week for Ellia to take as her birthday treat. I would have sent cupcakes (every kid’s favorite) but her teacher doesn’t like crumbs or mess. Ha! Pretty hard to avoid in a first grade classroom……but I wasn’t about to be the one to make the mess!

My original plan was to let Ellia decide….(after all, it was her treat, right?) and she decided on a Rainbow Candy Cookie Mix, I couldn’t have been more thrilled! All I had to do was add butter and an egg…and she would be happy!? Perfect. But when I proceeded to burn the Rainbow Candy cookies because I was trying to do a thousand things at once (sound familiar?) I had to come up with a new plan.

So around 10:00 pm the night before treat day, I decided to give this a whirl. And, of course, I burned the first batch of popcorn. Because it was just that kind of day. (At this point, Jorden suggested I might just want to buy something the next morning….and although he may have been on to something, I’m way too stubborn for that!) So I pushed on, and by the time 11:30 rolled around, Ellia’s birthday treat was (finally) ready.

When she woke up the next morning, she couldn’t have been LESS excited to discover popcorn in place of the cookies she had decided on. But that all changed when she tasted it….and by the time she left for school she was bubbling with excitement over the fact that she was taking 20 cups of extra special caramel corn with her! Sometimes it really IS worth the effort – burned cookies, burned popcorn, and all.

Birthday Cake Caramel Corn

4.50 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Author: Cathy Trochelman

Ingredients

  • 16 c. popcorn 1/2 c.kernels, popped
  • 2 c. white sugar
  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 1/2 c. light karo syrup
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 c. rainbow sprinkles

Instructions

  • Bring sugar, butter, and karo syrup to a rolling boil; boil 5 min, stirring often.
  • Add 1/4 tsp. baking soda and stir.
  • Pour mixture all at once over popcorn. Top with sprinkles.
  • Bake 1 hour at 200 degrees. Stir several times while in oven.
  • Let cool.

Enjoy!
Looking for another delicious birthday treat? Check out my Strawberry Shortcake Pops!

 

Thanks for taking a peek inside my Lemon Tree Dwelling…
I hope you feel right at home!
-Cathy

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Comments

  3. Jessica @ Barefoot by the Sea says

    What a fun alternative and a delicious birthday treat! Isn’t it the best when the littles are adament they don’t want something – until they give it a try? Suddenly….golden silence! Yay for that!
    (Birthday season here too – Ms Sydney turns 5 June 26th!)

    Reply

  7. Theresa says

    Oh, looks so delicious! Can’t wait to make some for any special summer day! or b-day! Theresa @ DearCreatives.com Hope you have a great weekend ahead! (ps I have two kids oriented giveaways going on right now pop by for your chance if you like) xo Theresa

    Reply

  10. HandJ Cobb says

    I think it goes without saying that I pinned this…I can’t tell you how amazing this looks! I want to eat it RIGHT NOW. My kids will be so excited to “help test” this recipe, thank you!

    I also want to just take a minute and compliment you on your beautiful photos. The second reason I pinned this post is that your pictures are so inspiring, it makes me want to work on my food photographing skillz!

    I also followed you by GFC. I’ll be stopping by again for sure!

    http://www.domesticblisssquared.com

    Reply

  13. dressthisnest says

    You are two for two with my nostalgic sweet tooth! YUM! I have been wanting to try one of those fancy popcorn versions of these and now I can make it at home. PERFECT! Thanks for sharing. Pinning this one too and now following you…thanks!

    Reply

  16. Cropped Stories says

    Hey there! Here from the Blog Hop! Just wanted to let you know I’m following you via GFC! I also liked your Facebook page and am following your other social networks! Hope you’ll get a chance to visit me :o) You can find me here:

    Blog url
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    Reply

  28. MHorn says

    I am so disappointed at how this turned out! 🙁 I followed your directions exactly, but when I added the sprinkles, they immediately melted, turning the corn syrup mixture an ugly brownish gray color. The mixture cools immediately, and as I was trying to spoon it over the popcorn, it came out in giant globby lumps. It looks like the most unappetizing treat ever! I don’t know how in the world yours looks so pretty! I’m guessing you must have used a different brand of sprinkles or maybe yours didn’t have any brown or black sprinkles in them. This was my son’s birthday treat to bring to his class, and I spent too much time on it for it to come out like it did.

    Reply

    • Cathy Trochelman says

      I’m SO sorry to hear that! All I can say is I also followed these instructions; maybe, as you suggested, it was a difference in sprinkles? Mine definitely did not have the black or brown in them 🙁 As for the caramel, it should be poured all at once over the popcorn. Sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you!!

      Reply

  29. Casi Head says

    5 stars
    I have been looking for different and new varieties of caramel corn to make for my at home business and a batch of this is in the oven now. It looks FANTASTIC. All I had were leftover christmas sprinkles but they still look nice. I have been making caramel corn for a couple years now and just a tip I have been using, ingredients the same as all the other recipes I use regularly and same for the recipe above, but I do it in the microwave! No chance of burning when you put the butter, corn syrup and sugar in the bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, stir, 2 minutes more, stir, and 2 minutes more. then add your soda and stir and pour over. I make quite a few other kinds as well but I really think this recipe is going to be a huge hit. love you site! Thanks for a new inspiration.

    Reply

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