I'm Back, With Caramel Popcorn!

So, I've been MIA for a month and a half. I have to blame it all on my friend J, since she was the one that wore me down and convinced me to join Facebook. I joined the day after my last post on here, and as you can see it has sort of kept me away from my blog. Oops. Facebook is so much fun, though, and I highly recommend it to everyone. It is Crackbook, as my friend M calls it.

Anyhow, things have been the usual topsy turvy around here. My Dad came out to visit last month right after we all took turns with the stomach flu, the week after he left my pygmy hedgehog gave birth to 5 babies that I was not expecting, and then the following week several of us came down with the flu. It's been, you know, busy.

So tonight after the two little ones went to bed, I searched around and found a recipe for making caramel popcorn in the microwave. Those of you that have made it the old fashioned way know it can be a bit laborious- making the caramel on the stove, popping the popcorn, coating it, baking it, etc. This recipe cut down on time and resulted in the best caramel popcorn I have ever had, bar none. It is so tasty, so easy, and so yummy! Here's the recipe, followed by a couple of tips.

Microwave Caramel Popcorn

4 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Place the popped popcorn into a large brown paper bag. Set aside.

In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 3 minutes in the microwave, then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, and stir in the baking soda.

Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for 1 minute and 10 seconds. Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 1 minute and 10 seconds. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.

Notes- Since microwave ovens vary, start with less time than the directions call for. I nuked the syrup for 3 1/2 minutes total, then the covered popcorn for 2 minutes total. I also used 1/2 cup kernels in my hot air popper to make the popcorn, but you can do two batches of 1/4 cup kernels in brown paper lunch bags for the popcorn. You can also use *gasp* microwave popcorn from two bags, but I don't recommend that. See my other post about microwave popcorn!

Enjoy this recipe with someone you love, even if it is just yourself. ;)