In the Kitchen: My Mom's Caramel Corn

Happy Mother's Day! I know..... I normally do this post on Fridays, but since it is Mother's Day, I wanted to do one of my mom's recipes and post it on Mother's Day.

My mom is a great cook/baker. She taught me a lot and let me spend a lot of time in the kitchen from an early age. One of the most amazing things about my mom as a cook is that she can make a delicious dinner out of almost nothing. She is creative and her meals are always tasty. I have learned a lot from my mom and am so thankful to have been blessed with such a wonderful mom. She really is the best.

I chose to make my mom's caramel corn, partly because I was craving it, partly because it reminds me of her because often when watching a movie with my family or if friends came over she would make this delicious, soft, sweet caramel corn. I am sure you want the recipe. So here it is:

What you need:

1/4 corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup peanuts (optional)
Already popped popcorn (no added butter, etc--make the amount on the bag--1/3 cup popcorn + 3 tbsp. oil)

Combine the corn syrup, brown sugar and butter in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly. Once at a boil, stop stirring and let boil until the mixture reaches 240 degrees (F) or if you don't have a thermometer, until it is in the soft ball stage (if you want it hard, cook until it reaches 260 degrees). Take the mixture off the heat and stir in the salt, vanilla, baking soda and if using, peanuts.

Pour over the already popped popcorn and stir in caramel until the popcorn is completely coated. This really is delicious caramel corn and should be eaten while watching a movie.

The caramel corn all ready to take to the movies (we saw "The Avengers").

Thank you mom for being such a wonderful, fun mom. I love you. Also thank you to Kim, Tyler's mom, for raising such a wonderful boy! 

And thank you to this little girl because I would not be a mom without her.