I typically see homemade caramel popcorn get soggy when the caramel sauce is too thick and when it isn't cooked long enough. With this recipe, the caramel sauce does not use baking soda which ensures a less dense consistency. The magic time to boil the sauce is 3 minutes. Anything more will cause the sauce to become soggy. A 3 minute boil is the key to keeping the caramel corn crisp.