Caramel Popcorn, SL1986

One of my fondest memories involving popcorn was receiving a tin of popped corn containing three different flavors at Christmas time. My family would share this special treat together as we rung in the New Year. My favorite flavor then and now was the caramel popcorn. The Mister is not a fan of caramel popcorn, so when he went out of town, it was the perfect opportunity to make some. Digging through the Annual recipes books, I found a microwaveable caramel popcorn recipe and knew it would be the perfect one to try.

The caramel popcorn was so easy to make in the microwave and took less time than baking in the oven over low heat. The caramel coated the popcorn nicely and the corn, once spread on the baking sheet, separated easily. The only negative I found was that the caramel coated corn left my hands slightly greasy. I don't know if this meant that I should have allowed the popcorn to cool more thoroughly or if I should have added an extra thirty seconds to the final microwave time. (Update: I tried an additional thirty seconds to the final microwave time and in our microwave, this was not a good idea. I wound up burning the popcorn.) Well, I suppose the other negative was there was not enough!

Caramel Popcorn

from Southern Living 1986 Annual Recipes, page 212

I halved this recipe as  I did not have a microwavable container large enough for the full recipe.

The ingredients:

• 1.5 quarts of popped popcorn (I used about 3 tablespoons of unpopped corn to make 1.5 quarts of popped popcorn.)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

The Instructions:
After popping the corn on the stove, I put it in a two quart microwaveable Tupperware.

In a separate microwaveable bowl, microwave the butter until melted, about one minute. Then add the sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir until mixed. Microwave on HIGH for four minutes. This is what it looks like after microwaving.

Stir in the baking soda and vanilla to the sugar mixture. The sugar mixture becomes quite creamy.

Pour the mixture over the popped popcorn. Stir.

Then microwave on HIGH for one minute. Stir the mixture to coat the popcorn.

Microwave on HIGH for an additional minute. Stir the mixture again.

Microwave on HIGH for thirty seconds. Stir the mixture and spread it out on a baking sheet to dry. I walked away long enough to flip laundry, wipe down the kitchen counters, and wash the dishes - about thirty minutes.

The instructions say to allow it to dry thoroughly before storing in an airtight container, but who has enough popcorn leftover to store?