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Caramel Crunch

Source of Recipe

Good Housekeeping


Recipe Introduction

"In pursuit of the perfectly easy holiday gift, we dreamed up this rich caramel-covered snack of salted peanuts and fresh-popped corn. Buy a few pretty tins to serve up this gift in style."

List of Ingredients

• 2 bags microwave light popcorn
• 1 jar salted dry-roasted peanuts (2½ cups)
• 1 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ½ tsp baking soda


Recipe

Preheat oven to 250°F. Lightly grease two 15½- x 10½-inch jelly-roll pans or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place popped corn in a very large bowl; discard any unpopped kernels. Add peanuts; toss to combine. Set aside.

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat butter, sugars, and corn syrup on medium until butter melts and sugars dissolve, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently with metal spoon or heat-safe spatula. Increase heat to medium-high and heat to boiling, about 3 minutes; boil 3 minutes longer. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in baking soda (mixture will bubble vigorously), and pour over popcorn mixture in bowl. Stir immediately; continue stirring until all popcorn is evenly coated.

Divide popcorn mixture prepared jelly-roll pans; spread evenly. Place pans on two oven racks. Bake popcorn mixture 45 minutes, rotating pans between upper and lower racks halfway through baking and stirring occasionally. Cool popcorn mixture completely in pans on wire racks, about 1 hour. Break apart any large clusters of popcorn when cool. Store in tightly sealed containers at room temperature up to two weeks.

Yields 24 cups