Caramel Corn

The holidays have come and gone. In my life, time spent with family and friends is also usually accompanied by mass consumption of delicious food. My mom and I have always made candy and cookies for neighbors and friends, and I've continued the tradition by making homemade goodies for my coworkers. This year I tried to keep it simple and made only three type of candy: (1) caramel corn, (2) chocolate bark, and (3) cashew brittle. All three were deceptively easy to make (as long as you have a candy thermometer!) and required very few ingredients. The caramel corn especially makes a sweet and salty delicious snack that is perfect all year long. And it's easy to give as a gift -- wrap up in a cellophane bag, in a mason jar, in a bakers box, etc.


Caramel Corn with Chopped Nuts
(adapted from Orangette)

2-3 packages plain microwave popcorn (I used Newman's Own Natural Microwave popcorn), or about 8-10 cups freshly popped popcorn (I like my caramel corn less caramel and more popcorn so I used 3 packages)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
¼ cup light corn syrup
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup roughly chopped nuts, such as almonds, peanuts or cashews (I used almonds)

(I used a disposable foil roasting pan so I could do everything in one container and just throw it away at the end -- I found this worked well because I could mix the popcorn and caramel, then bake in the oven in just one vessel. However, you can use a jelly roll pan or other roasting pan, just make sure to coat in Pam or use parchment paper.)

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Place the popped popcorn in a large mixing bowl or your foil roasting pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. If using a mixing bowl, also prep a jelly roll pan or other roasting pan with either nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, butter, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and whisk until it reaches 250°F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the baking soda and vanilla. Quickly pour the hot caramel over the popcorn. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn, taking care to distribute it as evenly as you can. Stir in the chopped nuts. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet if using one, otherwise just pop the whole foil roasting pan into the oven. Bake for about 1 hour, stirring and turning the popcorn with a spatula every 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Gently break up the popcorn, and serve.