CARAMEL POPCORN

My sister's class was having a bake sale for a fundraiser.  I usually try to donate something, but this year I was going to be out of town, so I needed something that would stay fresh for a couple of days.  I decided on caramel popcorn.  I had recently seen this recipe on the KAF website, so I gave it a shot.  It is sooo easy! I  followed it exactly.  It should be named "addictive caramel corn", luckily I was giving it away so temptation was removed.  Several reviewers on the website mentioned that adding the syrup to the peanuts and popcorn left the peanuts uncoated in the bottom of the bowl, so for the first bowl I added the peanuts after the syrup.  They still ended up in the bottom of the bowl.  The next batch, I added the peanuts to the syrup before pouring it over the popcorn and that worked wonderfully.  The addition of the baking soda makes the syrup not so sticky and baking it in the oven gives a great crunch to the corn.  The website says that it can be formed into balls before the baking step.  I'm making another batch tomorrow to share with family for the holiday.

Carol’s Caramel Corn

(From KAF website)

15 cups popped corn (9 tablespoons kernels, popped)

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup salted butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1)      Preheat your oven to 200°F and line a half-sheet pan (18" x 13" pan) with parchment paper. Pour the popped corn into a large bowl, at least 6 quarts, and set aside)

2)       In a large saucepan over medium-high heat bring the molasses, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

3)      Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Stir well as the mixture turns foamy

4)      Immediately (and carefully) pour the hot syrup over the popped corn and stir until the corn is well coated.

5)      Spread the hot caramel corn into the parchment-lined pan. Bake at 200°F for one hour. Stir the corn every 15 minutes during this time.

6)      Remove from the oven. This caramel corn is a warm, sticky, sweet and crunchy treat straight from the oven. It can also be cooled and stored airtight for several days. This recipe doubles and triples very well