Turnips 2 Tangerines: Caramel Corn- Game Day Recipe

On the Menu Today~
Caramel Corn

Game Day Recipe~
Caramel Corn

My sister Barb gave me this recipe for Caramel Corn many years ago.
In fact, I wrote the recipe on the back of a paper bag with a green crayon.
When my kids were young,
every year we would have an old-fashioned style Christmas tree.
We would decorate our tree with old Christmas cards,
candy canes, gingerbread men and gumdrops.
The kids would spend hours stringing cranberries, gumdrops and popcorn.
I always made a few extra batches of popcorn to make caramel corn and
because the kids ate more popcorn, than they strung up!

Back in the "olden" days,
I popped popcorn the old-fashioned way.
With an old, beat up pan that had a lid that didn't fit quite right,
with the bottom of the pan so uneven it
looked like someone took a hammer to it.
It was affectionately called the "popcorn pan"

I would plop a big spoonful of crisco in the bottom of the pan,
heat it up until it was super hot,
cover the bottom of the pan with popcorn kernels,
put the ill-fitting lid on the pan and pop away...
We loved to eat "the old maids" as we called them.

That beat up, old pan made the best popcorn.

Old Fashioned Caramel Corn

Caramel Corn

Ingredients

7 to 8 quarts popped popcorn
2 sticks butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mixed nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 250º Place popped popcorn, and nuts if using, in a large roasting pan.
In a medium sauce pan add: butter, brown sugar, light corn syrup, vanilla extract and salt. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Carefully stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Pour over popcorn in roasting pan. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove roaster from oven, immediately and carefully dump popcorn onto an aluminium foil lined counter top or baking sheets. Cool completely, breaking up any large chunks.
Store popcorn in large baggies or air tight containers.