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Indulge in our homemade version of Harry and David’s Moose Munch Popcorn – a perfect blend of sweet caramel, rich milk chocolate, and crunchy nuts. This is an absolute favorite during the holidays and on game nights.
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This Moose Munch Popcorn is the perfect game night snack, movie treat or holiday gift. Our homemade version tastes just like the famous Harry & David’s Moose Munch Popcorn with its perfectly salty sweet combination of caramel-coated popcorn, nuts and chocolate. Make a giant batch of this premium popcorn and watch it disappear within minutes. It’s crunchy, sweet, and really easy to make.
Ingredients in Moose Munch Popcorn
This delicious twist on classic caramel popcorn is easy to make with very simple ingredients, yet the end result is a a gourmet sweet and savory treat that everyone will be talking about! Here’s all you need for our homemade moose munch recipe:
- Popped popcorn – for this recipe, use about 20 cups popped corn or 2 bags unbuttered microwave popcorn, with kernels removed. We really like the Orville Redenbacher’s Naturals Simply Salted popcorn.
- Whole cashews – about half a cup, lightly salted cashews. You can also choose unsalted if you want to control how salty the treat turns out.
- Whole almonds – half a cup of lightly salted whole almonds. Again you can chooses the unsalted variety.
- Peanuts – half a cup, lightly salted
- Butter – three quarters of a cup, or one and a half sticks unsalted butter.
- Light brown sugar – one and a half cups. If you want a darker caramel and deeper flavor you can use dark brown sugar.
- Light corn syrup – half a cup Karo or other light corn syrup brand. This gives the caramel sauce a lot of sweetness without a ton of extra sugar.
- Baking soda – half a teaspoon. It’ll activate in the corn syrup and brown sugar mixture and create an absolutely decadent homemade creamy caramel.
- Salt – half teaspoon kosher or table salt.
- Chocolate chips – One cup Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. You can use white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate as well. The hint of chocolate adds an extra layer of decadence to this treat.
Steps to Buttery Caramel Moose Munch Popcorn
If you’ve never worked with caramel corn before, it can seem a bit daunting. But following these simple steps will give you perfect results every time!
- First, cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper.
- Next, place all the different types of nuts and the popped popcorn in a large bowl. Make sure to remove as many unpopped kernels as possible before adding to the bowl.
- Then, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan on the stove. Bring it all to a boil over medium heat, and keep stirring for two minutes.
- After two minutes, remove from heat and stir in baking soda and salt, and watch it foam up. Kind of cool to watch! My kids love helping with this part of the process.
- Pour caramel over popcorn and fold in with a rubber scraper or spatula until the entire popcorn mixture is well coated.
- Divide the popcorn in half and pour equal amounts on the prepared cookie sheets. Spread it all into a single layer.
- Bake in the oven at 250 degrees for about ten minutes. Then remove and let it cool.
- While the popcorn is baking, time to melt your chocolate. It’s easiest to melt chocolate chips in the microwave for thirty seconds, stirring until smooth.
- Use a spoon or fork to drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn. Let it sit until chocolate hardens, then break into pieces and enjoy!
Why is it Called “Moose Munch”?
Moose Munch popcorn was originally created by Harry & David, a Pacific Northwest-based company known for gourmet treats, gifts and best-selling fruit baskets. The company wanted to expand beyond fruit, and in the early 1990s caramel gourmet popcorn was all the rage. So they experimented with different flavors and ingredients, and the classic Moose Munch was born. It was initially only offered during the holiday season, but the popcorn recipe was so popular they made it available year-round. It’s called “Moose Munch” because the creators wanted to make a snack so yummy that “even the moose would want to munch on it.”
Variations on this Moose Munch Recipe
This recipe is versatile enough so you can change it up as much as you like, depending on tastes, holidays, textures, etc. Here are some ideas for variations:
- For holidays and different seasons, you can turn this popcorn into a seasonal recipe by adding pumpkin spice, mini marshmallows or candy corn for Halloween and autumn, peppermint chocolate bark and candy cane pieces for Christmas or wintertime, or lighter, fruitier flavors for Easter and spring or summer.
- Add dried chopped up fruit pieces like chopped cherries, cranberries, mangoes or apples into the mix.
- Not a fan of almonds? Leave them out! Like walnuts? Toss some in! That’s the beauty of this recipe; you can switch up ingredients to fit your needs.
- Add extra flavor with a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or even cayenne pepper into the caramel or the chocolate drizzle.
- Make the popcorn more savory by adding in grated parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning or other spices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moose munch is essentially caramel popcorn loaded with nuts and drizzled with milk chocolate. You can make your own caramel popcorn with this easy recipe or buy caramel corn and add the rest of the ingredients.
Who doesn’t love the combination of fluffy popcorn, buttery caramel and salty nuts? Add the chocolate drizzle and this Moose Munch popcorn is the best of both sweet and salty worlds.
Keep the popcorn mixture in an airtight container at room temperature and it will stay nice and fresh for about a week.
READ MORE: 33+ Easy Dessert Ideas
More Tasty Popcorn Treat Ideas
This Moose Munch Popcorn makes the cutest gift! Tie it up in a bag with festive ribbon and deliver to neighbors, teachers, classmates, and family. Or try some of our other favorite popcorn treats for special occasions:
How to Make Moose Munch Popcorn
Moose Munch Popcorn
Equipment
- 2 Cookie Sheet Pans
Ingredients
- 20 cups popped popcorn, kernels removed
- ½ cup lightly salted whole cashews
- ½ cup lightly salted whole almonds
- ½ cup lightly salted peanuts
- ¾ cup butter
- 1½ cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Allow popped popcorn to cool for 15 minutes, then combine with nuts in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and salt. Pour over popcorn and fold until well coated.
- Pour popcorn onto prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth.
- Use a spoon or fork to drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn.
- Allow to cool until chocolate hardens, about 10 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces and enjoy!
Notes
- Store in an airtight container or Ziplock bag, it will stay fresh for 2 weeks.
- Omit or substitute any of the nuts in this recipe as long as it equals 1 ½ cups.
- It’s important to cover the cookie sheets with parchment paper to make for a nonstick surface and an easy cleanup. Just be careful when you stir after the first 15 minutes of baking because the parchment likes to slide around and the cookie sheet is hot!
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