Caramel corn is one of my favorite treats, especially at holiday time. I love the deep caramelized-corn flavors that make my mouth sing, while watching my favorite holiday movie, or enjoying at casual parties. Making your own caramel corn is a fun way to celebrate the season and nice to share with family and friends.
In this recipe, I add a few warming holiday spices and a load of nuts to my traditional caramel corn recipe, which makes it much more festive for Christmas. Making your own caramel corn doesn’t take a lot of effort. Most of the cooking time is spent peering through the oven door, while your caramel corn bakes in a low oven. Waiting for those deep golden puffs to appear will almost kill you, but it’s well worth the wait. There’s nothing like homemade.
Ingredients
10 cups popped corn
1 cup smoked almonds
1 cup whole cashews
1 cup roasted peanuts
2 cups brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
(Serves 6-8)
To Prepare:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Pop popcorn either by air popper, microwave or stove top, pour into a large bowl. Add nuts and toss.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, add brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, cinnamon cloves, nutmeg and allspice. When mixture comes to a boil, cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
3. Pour mixture over popcorn and stir. Toss to coat popcorn, move quickly before it hardens. Watch your fingers, it’s hot!
4. Pour popcorn out onto 2 sheet pans. Place in oven for 1 hour, alternating racks every 15 minutes. Remove popcorn from oven and allow to cool for 45 minutes. When cool, break popcorn apart with your fingers and place in a sealed canister or jar. Enjoy!
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