Pop-em-Corn

Alright ladies and Gents, I am back with more recipes. I have sadly been neglecting this blog and my extreme love of documenting food. This post has been sitting unfinished since March of 2010 and I believe it is time for it to be shared with the world!

Caramel Corn, you too can make your own and it will be magnificent! Seriously, it is different than the stuff you buy in the store and I feel it is absolutely deserving of being attempted at least once in your life time. Break out those bucket lists people!

Here are the things you will need:

Food stuffs

• popcorn kernels
• brown sugar
• butter (mmmmm, butter)
• light corn syrup
• baking soda
• vanilla

Equipments

• air popper
• big a$$ bowl
• silicone spatula (it is important that it is silicone, the caramel will be HOT, and melted plastic does not taste good)
• two cookies sheets lined with aluminum foil and then parchment paper for ease of cleanup and to prevent sticking
• wooden spoon
• measuring cups and spoons, of course

Now that you got everything lets get started!

Turn your oven on and get it heated to 300°

Step 1: Put the kernels in the popper. Each popper is different so follow the directions for the machine on the limit you can put in.

Turn the machine on and pop your corn. I make sure to watch as it pops because sometimes it spits out un-popped kernels. These are no fun in the finished product and can lead to costly dental repairs; pick them out now when they're easy to spot.

Stop popping when you have 7-8 cups of popped corn.

Step 2: Put the butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium sized sauce pan.

Cook and stir (yes, this means you can't just walk away, stay and stir) over medium heat until mixture boils.

It will take awhile for this whole boiling thing to happen, don't give up! Keep stirring!

Once it boils, DON'T TOUCH IT! Just let it sit there boiling at a moderate, steady rate for 5 minutes. Remember, don't stir during this 5 minutes!

Step 3: After the 5 minutes, take the pan off the heat. Stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will look like it's becoming foamy and will get lighter in color.

Here's a closer look after a little more stirring. It's chemistry! Just more fun and tasty than in high school.

Step 4: Pour caramel goo over popcorn in big a$$ bowl.

Stir gently, so as not to murder all your lovely fluffy popcorn. Stir until all that white fluffy goodness is coated.

Step 5: Pour the coated popcorn onto the parchment lined cookie sheets. Spread it out into a thin even layer. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Pull the corn out of the oven.

Stir the mixture and put back in the oven to bake for 5 more minutes.

Step 6: Remove the corn from the oven. I just pull the parchment off the pans and let it sit to cool. You can also spread it out on buttered foil.

You can keep this delightful treat for up to a week tightly covered, but in my house it never survives the night.