Family Chow Hall

Caramel Popcorn

September 28th, 2006

Most people these days maybe don’t realize that you don’t need a microwave to make popcorn.

I don’t buy microwave popcorn for two reasons: 1. It’s more expensive than do-it-yourself popcorn and, 2. It doesn’t make enough for a big family.

We use a Stir-Crazy popcorn popper and love it. It makes 6 quarts, which is plenty, although if we are all in the mood, I might make two batches of it anyway.

A while back my 6-year-old asked if I could make some caramel popcorn sometime. It took me a while to get to it, but I finally made him some last Sunday. Sundays are this family’s lazy, I’m-not-gonna-do-anything-I-don’t-wanna-do day. I don’t usually cook much on Sunday and once church is over we all kick back and relax. This Sunday I did muster the energy to make caramel popcorn and we all really enjoyed it.

Here’s the recipe, which comes from Betty Crocker, but I use the same amount of syrup for a lot more corn, since I don’t think it needs to be heavily coated with caramel. I also leave out the nuts that Betty suggests.

Old-fashioned Caramel Popcorn
makes 24 cups

1 batch of popcorn (6 qt. or 24 cups)
1 stick of butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda

Make the popcorn and set aside. In a saucepan, heat all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the baking soda. Keep stirring as it all melts together and when it starts to bubble, turn the heat down (you still want it bubbling, though) and stir and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the baking soda and stir until it gets foamy. Now you can pour it over the popcorn and toss so that it’s coated as evenly as possible.

Heat your oven to 200 degrees. Spread the sticky popcorn out on two baking sheets or jelly roll pans. Bake for 1 hour, tossing gently every 15 minutes. At the end of the hour, you will have delicious, sweet, crunchy popcorn that the whole family will love.

Happy Crunching!

Entry Filed under: Desserts, Old-Fashioned Foods, Recipes, appetizers