| OK... it's time to post another all-time favorite. I cut this recipe out of the paper many years ago and have modified it some to make it not so sweet. I've probably made this one 100 times! CARAMELCORN 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn (should make about ten cups of popped corn... I use an air popper) 1 to 1-1/2 cups cocktail peanuts 1/2 cup margarine or butter (I use margarine) 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed (dark is OK too) 1/4 cup light corn syrup (dark is OK too) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Pop the popcorn and carefully remove all the unpopped kernels so nobody will break a tooth on your carmelcorn and sue you. Put into a large baking pan. Add the peanuts all in the middle. Keep warm. (I usually do this step when I'm waiting for the caramel to cook.) Melt margarine in a heavy 1- or 2-quart saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. (For my electric stove, I put the burner on number 5-1/2... you'll need to experiment to see what works on your stove.) Bring to a gentle rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil, without stirring, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and vanilla. Immediately pour onto the popcorn/nuts in the pan. I pour a lot on the peanuts because otherwise they are uncoated and tend to slip to the bottom of the serving container. Immediately stir with a spatula to evenly coat all popcorn and nuts. It will seem like it needs more caramel, but this is intentional, as I think it tastes better if it's not overly sweet. Keep stirring until the caramel is evenly distributed on the popcorn. Bake in the oven at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, turning once if you want. I always forget to turn it, and it works out fine. Remove from oven; allow to cool several minutes and transfer to a container with lid to keep it fresh and crispy. This is soooo yummy. |
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