Caramel corn

Caramel Corn

This is one of the treats I make every Christmas, but a luncheon with a World Series theme brought it out of the recipe box a little early this year.  See the connection?  ♫By me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks….♫  But this version is waaayyyy better than the one you find in the little box, let me tell you.  It’s not difficult to do from scratch either, though you do need to give yourself about an hour.

I found this recipe years ago at allrecipes and the title alone grabbed my attention right away.  It was called “My Amish Friend’s Caramel Corn.”  That’s actually what I still call it, but my husband pointed out that I don’t really have an Amish friend, so I shouldn’t make claims that indicate that I do.  Says it’s misleading.  But we like this recipe so much that in my heart, I feel like I do have an Amish friend and I did get this recipe from her.  So that being said, it will always be referred to as “My Amish Friend’s Caramel Corn!”  So there!

Recipe:  My Amish Friend’s Caramel Corn  ☺

(from allrecipes.com, submitted by AnitaLouise)

7 quarts plain popped popcorn  (I make 2 batches in my hot air popper.)
2 c. dry roasted peanuts, optional
2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 c. butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place the popped popcorn and peanuts onto two shallow, greased baking pans.  Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to blend.  Once mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes, while stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Immediately pour over popcorn and stir, but don’t worry about not getting every piece of popcorn covered.  Bake for 1 hour, removing pans every 15 minutes to stir popcorn and turn pans.  When finished, pour the caramel corn onto waxed paper and cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

 

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