This recipe comes from an Amish family who package this treat for gifts to friends and neighbors every Christmas. It is truly the tastiest, easiest, and most foolproof caramel corn recipe you’ll ever find! An easy way to coat the popcorn is to put the popped corn in a paper grocery bag and pour the caramel mixture over it and stir with a wooden spoon, then dump the mixture out onto your baking pan and throw the paper bag away. I agree with another reviewer that 200 degrees is the right oven temp. I bake it 45 minutes, stirring every 15. This recipe comes from an Amish family who package this treat for gifts to friends and neighbors every Christmas. It is truly the tastiest, easiest, and most foolproof caramel corn recipe you’ll ever find! [1118]. I made this as Christmas gifts for the staff at work one year. I needed to make something that would give me a high yield and be terrific. This was the perfect recipe! I’m not kidding when I tell you that this stuff is absolutely addicting!! I couldn’t keep my hands off of it when I was making it. Outstanding!! I have made one similar to this for years. One suggestion….use a turkey roaster and a stiff spoon to stir with. The tall sides of the turkey roaster make it so much easier to do a good job stirring. When you stir, make sure that you scrapt the bottom and sides of the roasting pan. Hope this helps….
Ingredients
7 quarts plain popped popcorn
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional)
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1-Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans. You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans. Add the peanuts to the popped corn if using. Set aside.
2-Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
3-Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. Don’t worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.
4-Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.
Source:allrecipes.co.uk