Caramel Popcorn

My husband is hooked on gourmet caramel popcorn.  In an effort to save some money, I downloaded several recipes from the internet and started experimenting.  It took a month of trial and error, but this final result is very addictive and fairly easy to make.  We found brown sugar had the nicest flavor, but you can use white sugar instead in a pinch. A candy thermometer is necessary, though being familiar with caramel I used white sugar initially and browned it until it looked right.  I then took the temperature and switched to brown sugar for this finally recipe.  (This is NOT a kid safe recipe for obvious reasons.) 

1/3 C popcorn

3 T canola oil

Pop the popcorn in a very large pot with a lid. Put the popcorn into a large roasting pan with high sides. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

1 C brown sugar

2 T  agave or honey (we prefer agave)

10 T  sweet butter

Slice the butter into tablespoon sized pieces.  Put the brown sugar, butter and agave into a medium pot.  At medium heat allow the butter to melt.  Stir to mix all the ingredients (the butter will separate a little, not to worry).  Put a lid on a the pot and allow it to come to a vigorous boil.  Remove the lid and continue to boil until the temperature reaches 285 degrees.  (Other recipes used 250 degrees or simply said cook for 5 minutes, but we didn't get a nice caramel flavor from that.)  Remove from heat. 

2 t vanilla extract

1/2 t baking soda           

Add the vanilla extract and stir quickly. Add the baking soda and stir again quickly.  The soda causes the caramel to foam and will help distribute the caramel more evenly.  Pour caramel over the popcorn and stir well.

Bake 45 minutes in a large roasting pan, stirring well every 15 minutes.

1 t flaked salt

Remove from oven and sprinkle 1 teaspoon flaked salt over caramel corn and stir to mix.

Tip: ideally use non-stick implements to stir and a non-stick roasting pan.  Some recipes suggest using spray-on anti-stick.  To clean pots, let soak in warm water for a few minutes and the caramel will come off easily.

Next we're working on a caramel nut version... 

Postscript: We have tried doubling this recipe.  I has worked on some occasions but the last two times the caramel did not stay emulsified which resulted in a wet, greasy popcorn.  It does seem that slight variations can cause things to break.  I'll be weighing the ingredients next time and will post the results.