Killer Caramel Corn

One favorite fall memory from my childhood is that of my mom making oven caramel corn. I remember she did this quite a few times while we lived in Stone Mountain, GA. Unfortunately the recipe was lost during our move to Naples. At least that's the story she always gave! Anyway, not too long ago I decided to search for a caramel corn recipe to see if I could find one that lived up to my memories. I'm happy to say I believe I did. And now I'm going to share it with you. The base recipe is actually from allrecipes, but this is the version I came up with based on a couple of reviews.

Caramel Corn

1 cup popcorn kernels
2 T. oil
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks)
6 T. light corn syrup (1/4 cup + 2 T)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 250.

Pop the corn 1/2 a cup at a time in 1 T. oil. Put popped corn in a disposable aluminum roasting pan (22-25lb. pan, I found this was the best way to fit all the popcorn in a single pan). Keep warm in oven.

Mix brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla.

Spread mixture over warm popcorn. Stir well. Bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Let cool and break into pieces.