Cate’s Caramel Corn

E whipped this up for an oscars party with themed food. It turned out great. Her only complaint was that actually making popcorn on the stove the old-fashioned way was sort of a pain (looks like it’s really easy and cheap to make your own microwave popcorn though). She might try adding peanuts crackerjack-style next time.

Ingredients
1 c butter
2 c brown sugar
1/2 c corn syrup minus 1 Tbsp
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn
sprinkle of fleur de sel

Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. After first half hour, sprinkle with fleur de sel if using. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
Verdict
Outstanding!