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Once the caramel corn pops, you won’t stop snacking!

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3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup salted peanuts (optional)

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Spray the inside bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Place popcorn in the baking pan.

2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt to the saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and the slide saucepan to a cool burner.

3. Carefully add vanilla and baking soda (mixture will bubble and foam). Add peanuts (if using) and stir to combine.

4. Use a rubber spatula to carefully scrape the caramel mixture onto the popcorn in the baking pan (the saucepan will be heavy, and the caramel will be hot). Use the rubber spatula to gently stir until the popcorn is evenly coated. Spread the popcorn into an even layer.

 

5. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the baking pan from oven. Place baking pan on a cooling rack. Use the rubber spatula to carefully stir the popcorn, scraping up caramel from bottom of pan (the pan will be hot). Spread the popcorn back into even layer.

6. Return the baking pan to the oven and bake until the popcorn is deep golden brown, about 40 minutes, repeating stirring halfway through baking.

7. Remove the baking pan from the oven. Place the baking pan on a cooling rack and carefully stir the popcorn one last time (the pan will be hot). Let caramel popcorn cool completely in pan, about 30 minutes. Break the popcorn apart with your hands and serve.

Recipe note: Caramel popcorn can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days.

(For 25 years, confident cooks in the know have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)

©2021 America’s Test Kitchen. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


 

 

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