Notice: Function add_theme_support( 'html5' ) was called incorrectly. You need to pass an array of types. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 3.6.1.) in /var/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5831
South Jersey Boardwalk Caramel Corn #SundaySupper

Take A Bite Out of Boca

...and beyond

South Jersey Boardwalk Caramel Corn #SundaySupper

by

Never miss a bite! Sign up here to receive new recipes and reviews straight to your inbox.

Your hands will be a sticky sweet mess when you dig into this South Jersey Boardwalk Caramel Corn — just like the iconic Johnson’s Popcorn we all know and love!

south jersey boardwalk caramel corn #sundaysupper

What food represents your hometown? That’s the question all of us at #SundaySupper had to think about for this week’s Hometown Foods theme hosted by Coleen of The Redhead Baker. It’s actually a pretty hard question. For my hometown of Egg Harbor Township, a pretty large suburb of Atlantic City, New Jersey, things like Primo’s and Mack and Manco’s Pizza were one of the first things to come to mind, followed by Wawa — yes, just Wawa. Not a specific food or anything, just the whole entire concept. So that was kind of out of the question. Then there’s the whole sub thing — White House Subs or Atlantic City Sub Shop with just the right rolls so perfectly soft on the inside and just a tad hard on the outside. So much food, what would I choose?! Then it hit me. The Ocean City Boardwalk is a totally iconic part of South Jersey life. Whether you’re from my town, EHT, or any of the neighboring towns, we all spent summers walking up and down the boards with our friends, eating all the wonderfully greasy and delicious boardwalk fries, funnel cake, monkey bread and….Johnson’s Popcorn, that super sweet, sticky, almost dessert-like popcorn.

south jersey boardwalk caramel corn #sundaysupper

south jersey boardwalk caramel corn #sundaysupper

Some may look at it and just call it caramel corn and that’s that — but it is so much more. Johnson’s has been around since 1940 and is an Ocean City Boardwalk staple. You can’t visit without devouring a tub full of this stuff. There’s nothing better than getting one of those huge gift tins full of popcorn. With so many different foods I could have chosen to represent my hometown in South Jersey, nothing felt as significant as Johnson’s. I had to make my own South Jersey Boardwalk Caramel Corn!

south jersey boardwalk caramel corn #sundaysupper

south jersey boardwalk caramel corn #sundaysupper

A few simple ingredients are all it takes to replicate this delicious crunchy snack. I have no idea what the actual original recipe is — apparently anyone who works there was sworn to secrecy and even had to sign off that they’d never tell! But this copycat recipe works just as well and tastes just as good! 

south jersey boardwalk caramel corn #sundaysupper

 

South Jersey Boardwalk Caramel Corn
 
Recipe Type: Snack
Cuisine: American
Author: Shaina
Your hands will be a sticky sweet mess when you dig into this South Jersey Boardwalk Caramel Corn — just like the iconic Johnson’s Popcorn we all know and love!
Ingredients
  • 1 cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil of choice
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 2-3 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp molasses
Instructions
  1. Heat a 1 1/2 qt pot on medium heat and add kernels. There should be enough to coat the entire bottom of the pot.
  2. Add oil and toss the make sure all of the kernels are coated.
  3. Cover and let cook until the kernels have popped and filled the pot. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
  4. Empty the popcorn into another container and immediately add butter and brown sugar to the pot while it’s still hot.
  5. Once the butter has started to melt, add the molasses and stir until it becomes a gooey liquid.
  6. Stir in the popcorn until its well coated.
  7. Let sit for 1-2 minutes until the brown sugar mixture starts to bubble, and then continue to toss the popcorn. Repeat twice.
  8. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes or until the brown sugar mixture has set.
 

 

#SundaySupper members are from all over the world — check out some of their favorite dishes that remind them of home.

 Breakfast

Drinks

Appetizers and Snacks

Main Dishes

Side Dishes

Desserts

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Comments

  1. I love the back story to this recipe! Makes this popcorn look even more tasty! I may need to make this for our Oscars party next month!

  3. I absolutely love this. I am in Philly, so I am quite familiar with the Jersey shore! We went down to Wildwood for vacations when I was growing up, and it will always hold a special place in my heart, but I’ve also come to appreciate Ocean City. The caramel corn cannot be beat!

  5. My youngest brother loves popcorn and he just made his own for the first time over Christmas – I’ll have to share this recipe with him, it looks wonderful!

  7. Love me som caramel corn. I tried my hand at some once; made craft beer caramel corn. It was pretty good, but looked NOTHING like this deliciousness.

  9. I love caramel corn, Shaina, and since the chances of my going to Atlantic City any time soon are slim, I’m going to try your copy cat recipe! Can’t wait!

  11. i have never been to Jersey except vicariously through Stephanie Plum LOL but when I do visit I am going to try this and see how it compares to the version I am going to make with your recipe

  17. Oh, my goodness, there is some gooey wonderful goodness going on in that popcorn, Shaina. Very serendipitous, too. My hubby is from South NJ and spent many a summer in Ocean City!

  22. Yummy Shaina! I love caramel popcorn. But you know what I love even more is the combination of caramel popcorn and cheddar cheese. The salty and sweet are so good together for me. I should use your recipe for the caramel and figure out how to make the cheddar cheese popcorn!

  24. This looks soon good (and so addicting)!!!! YUM!!!! My husband and I used to live in South Jersey for a couple years, and really miss our trips to Ocean City now! Nothing like the Jersey shore 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!!!!

Trackbacks