Caramel Corn

I am a sucker for anything caramel related, be it ice cream, cookies, coffee, etc., so there was a lot of joy in my heart when I realized that I could make perfectly sweet caramel corn at home.  This recipe is fairly easy, it just takes some patience and a strong arm for whisking.  The best part is that when you pour the caramel over the popcorn to begin with you don't have to get everything evenly coated right away, as the baking will do the work for you!  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did, I think it will be a great addition to the holiday treat boxes I make for the neighbors (but mostly eat myself)....

Caramel Corn
from allrecipes.com

1 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (3.5 oz) bags popcorn, popped

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Sort the popcorn between popped pieces and unpopped kernels, and add the popcorn to a large bowl (I believe my bowl was about 5 qts).

Melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then bring the caramel mixture to a boil, being sure to stir constantly.  Once the mixture has reached a boil, boil for 4 minutes without stirring.  Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.  Drizzle the mixture over the popcorn while stirring to coat as well as possible. 

Divide the mixture into two shallow baking dishes and bake in the oven for one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.  (The caramel mixture will cover more evenly as you bake).  After the hour remove and let cool completely before shoving handfuls into your mouth.

Enjoy!

-D

Baked Sunday Mornings: Caramel Apple Cake

First of all, this cake was delicious.  I had experienced it once already on the Baked book tour, and I even claimed it was the best frosting I'd ever had.  I, however, could not make it come together in my kitchen.  It was just one of those days.  The caramel separated the first time, and it was downhill from there.  But its still pretty tasty, despite the bumps in my road.  Yum!

{T}

Baked Sunday Mornings: Sweet & Salty Brownies

If you like cakey brownies, now might be the time to leave the room. You won't find anything like that here. At least not today. Today is brought to you by the boys over at Baked. They are the masterminds behind this recipe, the Sweet & Salty Brownie. This was the pick for this week's Baked Sunday Mornings, and to make the story short, a MUST try.


This is the epitome of a fudgy brownie. Heaven.


See those white specs on the top? That's fleur de sel. And if you haven't experienced it yet, I say add it to your list. This subtle salt sprinkled on the top was just enough to cut the incredible sweetness that the 11 ounces (yes, 11) of chocolate that goes into this recipe. Oh, and did I mention there's a layer of caramel baked into the middle of everything? It's kind of the secret ingredient here. You can't see it after it seeps into the brownies as they bake, but it sure makes a difference. You better get a glass of milk, you're going to need it.