Cracker Jacks-Style Caramel Corn
For Cracker Jacks-Style Caramel Corn, skip the baking soda in the caramel
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 332kcal
Equipment
- Popcorn Maker
- Small to medium saucepan
- Silicone spoon
- Large mixing bowl
- Large disposable aluminum baking pan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 10 cups popped mushroom popcorn (See Tips 1 and 2)
- 1½ cups redskin Spanish peanuts (See Tip 3)
- 10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter
- 1¼ cups (9.4 ounces) dark brown sugar, packed (See Tip 4)
- ¼ cup (60 mL) dark corn syrup (See Tip 4)
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F.
- Place the popped popcorn in a large bowl. Add the peanuts on top, but do not stir. (See Tip 5)
- Add the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until smooth and bubbling. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract (See Tip 6)
- Pour caramel over popcorn and peanuts. Stir quickly and thoroughly to coat
- Spread the mixture evenly in a large disposable roasting pan. Bake at 250°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure an even coating. (See Tips 7 and 8)
- Transfer the caramel corn to parchment paper and let it cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
- Yield: 12 servings.
Video
Notes
- Mushroom popcorn is a variety that pops into large round balls as opposed to the "winged or butterfly" style of store-bought kernels. Based on appearance, commercial Cracker Jacks likely uses mushroom popcorn.
- I popped the kernels in my Dash Stirrig Popcor Maker with 2 tablespoons of peanut oil, but feel free to use your favorite method of popping popcorn.
- Based on appearance, commercial Cracker Jacks likely uses redskin Spanish peanuts. The peanuts are my favorite part of Cracker Jacks, so I added significantly more than the commercial variety uses.
- Dark brown sugar and dark Karo syrup produce a darker color and a flavor with more depth than light brown sugar and light Karo syrup.
- Not stirring the peanuts into the popcorn initially results in a better distribution during coating.
- The caramel mixture will bubble up when the vanilla is added, so be careful.
- Don't worry if not all of the popcorn is coated at this point. The baking and stirring during baking will take care of this.
- The reason that I like to use a large disposable aluminum pan is that it minimizes cleanup. This is a personal preference.
- The caramel corn will crisp up as it cools.
Nutrition
Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 194mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg
