Caramel Corn

 

Hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

I learned quite a bit on my Labor Day.

We headed out of town for a one night trip to a small town called Salado, TX, & it turned into a 3 day vacay with two of our friends from college.  We simply woke up every morning and decided we shouldn't go home.  This led to a weekend of cooking, playing board games, eating, watching movies and antiquing.  It was me with three boys in tow.   And yes, we are all in our twenties... not our sixties.  We stayed in a house my family owns in this small town, but doesn't visit often.  With no supplies for a 3 day trip and little to work with at the house, we pulled quite a bit together.

I felt like I had quite a few revelations.  Here's my top 5 from the weekend....










College football games can be extremely exhilarating.

A classic Labor Day meal can totally be made without a grill.  Oven BBQ chicken, potato salad, cheddar corn fritters and a summer brew.
(recipes coming soon)

Three boys in the kitchen is actually a dream come true.  I have never seen prep work come together so quick.

Leftover apple crumb makes a pretty killer breakfast.  Especially when you add a savory breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee.

Cracker Jacks have nothing on homemade caramel corn.

You should totally make this.  You should totally share.

But that's the problem... it's hard to share. It's addicting.

Even for me who always picks the cheddar popcorn over the caramel popcorn in those trio cans that seem to always show up around Christmas.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  I know you know, that I know, that you all know what I'm talking about.

Gosh, I love those things.  Maybe I should start a search for a good cheddar popcorn and we could throw together our own popcorn trios by Christmas?!

But back to the good stuff.  This popcorn keeps it crunch while being bathed in a sweet and caramely layer that gets a slightly salty kick from the peanuts that go oh so well to finish it off.  It slowly bakes for an hour, which makes it even more perfect for a long weekend or a holiday where you can slow things down a bit.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Caramel Corn

Adapted from DamGoodSweet by David Guas and Raquel Pelzel

Recipe Notes

It is possible to do this without a candy thermometer, but I would not recommend it if you are not use to this sort of thing.  Make this your excuse to buy yourself one.  It will be fool proof with candy thermometer.

I used grocery store brand "natural" flavored popcorn.  Newman's Own also has a natural flavor.  You can use air popped as well.  Just buy a popcorn with no flavors like butter or kettle corn and you should be fine.  If you air pop yourself, lightly salt it afterwards.  You want popcorn that tastes pretty plain with a hint of salt.

10 cups of popped popcorn took about 1 1/2 bags for me.

Measure everything out and get your tools ready before you start making the caramel.  Things will go very fast once you begin and you won't have time to grab things.

Ingredients

10 cups popped popcorn (see recipe notes)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup lightly salted peanuts

Step by Step

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Coat a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and dump the popcorn into the bowl, taking care to pick out and discard any unpopped kernels.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer, whisking often, until the mixture reads 250°F on a candy thermometer, about 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the baking soda and vanilla. Quickly pour the hot caramel over the popcorn. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn, taking care to distribute it as evenly as you can. Stir in the peanuts, and transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring and turning the popcorn with a spatula every 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Gently break up the popcorn, and serve.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Makes about ten cups.