Cooking Lesson #35— Homemade Caramel Corn

Batter up!

How you doin’? I don’t know about you, but I am missing Dodger baseball. We came so close to getting into the World Series last year that I thought we would be on a tear this season. Alas, it looks like this season is going to start late if it starts at all.
 
What do you think of when you think about baseball? I think summer, I think of the diamond and the stadium, and then I think of caramelly, crisp Cracker Jacks. Well to be perfectly honest, it doesn’t have to be summer for me to devour a whole bag of caramel corn.
 
The original Cracker Jack caramel popcorn had a most compelling, come-back flavor. Once you started eating them you couldn’t put the box down. For me, the reward wasn’t the cheap little prize found in each box, but the caramel coated peanuts—they were the best part of this all-American classic snack. I would set prize aside, dig down to the bottom of the box for the caramel coated peanuts (that’s where they always migrated to) and then, and only then, I would munch on the caramel corn.
 
This Cracker Jack hack is very close to the original, but I did take a few liberties. You will find it’s a little darker because I used brown sugar and dark corn syrup. It’s best for munching right away but is also the perfect buttery toffee popcorn recipe for gifting, snacking, or bringing to any sports event or concert!
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  1 hour 30 minutes (approximate time depending on the oven)
Cooling time:  30 minutes
Total time:  1 hour 55 minutes
Yield:  8 servings
 
Ingredients

For the popcorn
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 cups popping corn kernels (mushroom popcorn—see ChefSecret below)
This will make about 12 cups of popped popcorn.
1 teaspoon fine salt
 
For the caramel corn
12 cups plain freshly popped popcorn (from above)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (Karo Syrup)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt (often sold as popcorn salt)
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups salted Spanish red peanuts, skin on
 
Directions

1. Pop the popcorn in coconut oil with the salt.  It’s a large quantity… depending on the size of your pot, you will probably have to divide the popping (kernels and oil) into 3 or 4 loads. 
2. Grease a large, disposable aluminum pan with nonstick spray. Pour the popped popcorn into the pan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of fine salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Move an oven rack to the middle position.
4. Preheat an oven to 250⁰F.
5. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat melt the butter. Add the sugars, corn syrup, and salt. Bring them all to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer the mixture while stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The baking soda will foam, keep stirring until the foaming subsides.
7. Add the peanuts and then pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn, tossing to coat evenly. This will take a couple of minutes—just keep lightly mixing trying not to break up the popcorn.
8. Bake the popcorn, stirring every 15-20 minutes, until it turns a deep golden color and the caramel has set. Be patient; this will take 60-90 minutes. Spread wax paper over your counter and pour the mixture out onto the wax paper.
9. Separate the popcorn while cooling to room temperature. The popcorn will crisp as it cools.

ChefSecrets:

• There are 2 shapes of popcorn you can find in some stores and on the internet—Mushroom and Butterfly.
  • Use the mushroom which pops as a tight little ball and is best for coating.
  • Butterfly popcorn has fly-away wings which will break off while coating.
• Popping in coconut oil will give the best results. Don’t use microwave popcorn—it just doesn’t work very well.
• You can store the caramel corn at room temperature, in an airtight container for 5 to 7 days.

#Snacks #CrackerJack #CrackerJacks #CrackerJackHack #CaramelCorn #Dodgers #Baseball #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19

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