We had a Friday night tradition in our house: Family Movie Night. A big hit with my kids was caramel popcorn (now a big hit with my kids is staying out all hours of the night doing God knows what—but I digress…).
While the kids were choosing the movie, I’d head into the kitchen to throw this snack together in about 10 minutes—just enough time to down another drink so I could fall asleep within the first 10 minutes of their film choice.
Quick safety note: Melting sugar gets intensely hot, and an accident with it can cause serious injury. So keep the kids (and pets) out of the kitchen when you’re making this—and maybe keep an eye on your own alcohol consumption too.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 regular-sized bag of popcorn (unflavored, unsalted if possible), popped just beforehand
Tools Needed
- 2-quart Teflon-coated pot with lid
- Large wooden spoon
- Large bowl (lightly greased)
- Measuring cup
- Spray shortening
- One (or two) glasses of your favorite alcoholic beverage
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter. (Pro tip: measure the brown sugar first, then spray the inside of your measuring cup with a little cooking spray before measuring the corn syrup—it’ll slide right out.)
Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture starts to bubble, stop stirring. Cover the pot and gently swirl it over the heat so it doesn’t burn. Simmer for 5 minutes.
(Reminder: This stuff is like molten lava. Keep the kids and pets far, far away.)
Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the salt and baking soda. Stir vigorously but carefully—again, molten lava. At this point, you’ll have a gooey, golden caramel sauce. Place the pot to the side and take a well-earned sip of your drink.
Put the popcorn in the lightly greased bowl and pour the caramel over it. (Greasing the bowl makes clean-up easier—trust me.) Gently fold with a wooden spoon to coat all the popcorn evenly. You can add about 1/2 cup of nuts if you’d like—my kids didn’t, so I didn’t.
Once everything’s coated, set the bowl aside somewhere safe so no one sneaks a bite before you’re ready. Go ahead and soak the pot and spoon now to make clean-up easier (ideally, have someone else handle that part).
Continue sipping your drink and bring out the snack for family consumption.
Enjoy.
The Haus of Dcaligari 