Caramel Popcorn

 

Yield: A lot

Time: Some

Ingredients:

• 3 c. sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. heavy cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 2/3 c. popcorn kernels

Instructions:

1. This recipe involves caramelizing sugar which isn't hard but can be tricky. Make sure to follow the directions or the caramel might not work. 
2. In a bowl stir together the sugar, salt, and water. Add this mixture to a large metal pot and make sure not to stir the sugar once it's in the pot to prevent it from crystallizing. Set the temperature to medium and wait for it to caramelize. When I was doing this I had to move the pot around on the burner to make sure that the sugar caramelized evenly. Leave the sugar on the stove until it reaches ~350℉ as measured by a candy thermometer. The sugar should go the color of a copper penny. If the sugar burns toss it out and try again (it'll smell like burnt hair.)
3. As soon as the sugar hits 350℉ pour in the heavy cream while stirring rapidly with a wooden spoon. The caramel will bubble up so you might need to use oven mitts while you're doing this. Once the sugar and cream combine pour in the vanilla and continue cooking the caramel until it reaches 240℉. Take the caramel off the heat and allow it to cool to ~200℉.
4. While the caramel is cooling pop your popcorn. You'll need two large bowls to sift out the un-popped kernels. Pop all your kernels and put the popcorn in one of the large bowls and then gently pour the popcorn into the second bowl leaving the un-popped kernels behind. You might have to do this several times to get all of the duds out. 
5. Pour the caramel onto the popcorn and stir it until the caramel coats it evenly. If you want to form your caramel corn into popcorn balls you might need a little less popcorn.