Caramel Popcorn

By crisscut

Ingredients

• 14 cups popped popcorn
• 2 cups whole almonds and/or roasted salted cashews
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove all unpopped kernels from popped popcorn. Put popcorn and, if desired, nuts into a 17" x 12" x 2" roasting pan. Keep popcorn warm in the oven while making the caramel mixture.

Butter a large piece of foil; set aside. For caramel, in a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling at a moderate steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minutes more.

Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour caramel over popcorn; stir gently to coat. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir mixture; bake for 5 minutes more. Spread caramel corn on prepared foil; cool. Place caramel corn in container covered with plastic wrap.