Caramel CORN

Here's a nibble that is simple, fun and delicious! You can make it with your family. This could be your pre-Family Night activity! Make some Caramel Corn and then all watch a movie together or have a game night, puzzle night. However, be careful dancing and eating caramel corn I wouldn't want anyone to choke!

We are going to stick with the old fashioned air popcorn for this recipe. Don't have an air popcorn popper. Do you have a large soup pot? That will work too. Pop yourself 18-20 cups of popcorn. I know this makes a big batch. Don't worry you'll eat it. Bag it up and give some to your neighbor.....they'll love you for it! Just make sure you don't give them any unpopped kernels, you wouldn't want to have them bust a tooth! (I've never tried the microwave popcorn in this recipe.)

Put it all in a large roasting pan. OK if 20 cups freaks you out. Cut the recipe in half for heavens sakes!

Now for the good stuff, 2 sticks of butter (not margarine or oleo or Blue Bonnet please), 2 cups of brown sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup (dark or light what ever you have on hand will work), 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook this over medium heat, stirring occasionally until butter melts and caramel starts to boil.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Then get your whisk and give it a good whuppin'. You want to make sure it's nice and smooth.

Once it starts to boil let it be, for about 1-2 minutes.

Let it get nice and bubbly...oooh can you smell it? Please tell me you like caramel....I DO! Chocolate has taken a backseat to caramel in my old age. I can't resist it!

Remove pan from heat after a good 1-2 minutes of intense caramel boilage. Now for the chemical reaction...not sure what chemical reacts, but obviously something does. Immediately add 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda to caramel. Have your spoon ready to stir vigorously . Get that arm dangle some exercise.

It's going to double and become foamy. Have no fear it will not come over the sides of the pan and take over your kitchen. But it will come perilously close.

Here it comes up to the edge. Keep stirring. Make sure all the baking soda is incorporated.

Pour over popcorn.

Gently fold popcorn into caramel.

Put in preheated oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes open oven, and give popcorn a stir, try to pull up all the caramel from the bottom of the pan up on popcorn. If you are a accident waiting to happen, like myself, in the kitchen you might want to remove pan before giving popcorn a stir.

Repeat this step two more times.

After setting your timer 3 times for 15 minutes and stirring popcorn, remove from oven and dump on to parchment paper or on to cookie sheets.

It is so Gol' Darn good when it's warm. BEWARE! I've given the addiction warning before but this is truly dangerous.

No licking your computer screens! Back! Back! Make your own for heavens sakes! Do it with your kiddos. They will think you are the best!

A few weeks ago when I threw my Cowgirl Dinner Party, I made this and packaged it up in little brown paper bags as lil' gifts for my gals. Sorry if you didn't get one....some of you left a lil early and I plum forgot to give you your gift. You can pinch the ladies who took two home!

Caramel Corn

printable recipe

18-20 cups popped popcorn (The old fashioned way, not microwave.)

2 cups Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Corn Syrup

2 sticks Butter

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

Yes! I ate the caramel off the spatula. Every last bit baby! Yum! I hope you give this Caramel Corn a try.

One of my very first recipes posted was Gingerbread Caramel Corn, this is great to give for Christmas gifts!

Enjoy!