Caramel Corn

 I have been making this recipe for many years.  This adaptation uses coconut oil.

Cindy’s Caramel Corn

About ¾ cup unpopped corn.  Pop and pour into a very large bowl or kettle (2­₊ gallon size)

Place up to 1 lb nuts on top (optional).  Raw Spanish peanuts, pecans or almonds are good choices if you choose to add nuts

Caramel:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

½ cup coconut oil

2 cups cane sugar

½ cup honey

1 t. salt

Add caramel ingredients to saucepan.  Stir constantly over medium high heat until boiling.  Boil 5 minutes without stirring.

Mix together 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with ½ teaspoon soda.  Stir this into syrup.  It will foam and bubble.  Then, pour syrup over popcorn, mixing lightly and trying to coat the popcorn (and nuts, if added).

Spread into two 12” x 18” baking pans (or equivalent)

Bake at 250 degrees for one hour.  Stir every 15 minutes, scraping syrup from the bottom of the pan and redistributing over corn and nuts.

Spread onto waxed paper to cool.

*  I have made this successfully substituting with 1 cup safflower oil  – completely eliminating the margarine/butter.

* To make  a "lighter" version of this recipe, just pop more popcorn.  Then, the coating is distributed over more popcorn, making a thinner coating.  The last time I made this, I popped up 1 cup of popcorn and used the same syrup recipe.