Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers in the world especially my mom! I had the most wonderful and relaxing weekend. Last Friday marked the last day of my spring semester classes. I celebrated over the weekend by making a simple, delicious, homemade treat – a bowl of caramel popcorn. I fell in love with caramel popcorn several years ago when I lived in Chicago. During my time living and working in Chicago, I was introduced to the Chicago mix popcorn at a Garett Popcorn Shop in Chicago. The Chicago mix popcorn was a combination of buttery caramel popcorn and savory cheddar popcorn. After just a couple pieces, I fell in love with the caramel and cheddar popcorn combination. I became so addicted to the popcorn during my time in Chicago, I would buy bags upon bags of Chicago mix popcorn whenever I had the opportunity. If friends and family visited me in Chicago, I would be sure to take them to a Garett Popcorn Shop just so I could satisfy my popcorn cravings. Each time I bought a bag of caramel and cheddar popcorn mix, Kevin would pick out the caramel popcorn to snack on. I would pick out the cheddar popcorn to munch on. This weekend, I had a sudden craving for caramel popcorn and ended up making a large bowl of caramel popcorn. All you need for caramel popcorn is a batch of freshly popped corn, unsalted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and some water. I heated up a deep skillet on medium heat, melted the butter, sugar, and water, turned off the heat, and tossed a bunch of freshly popped corn into the caramel mixture. The key is to toss the popcorn quickly to ensure the popcorn is coated in the caramel sauce before it hardens. It’s okay if some of the caramel hardens at the bottom. Kevin tends to go straight for those pieces so he can get some extra caramel. When the caramel popcorn was done, I poured the pieces into a bowl and went straight to planning for summer vacation. With spring semester coming to an end, I get two weeks off before summer semester begins. I took advantage of this time to plan summer activities for my parents who will be visiting me during the summer. Whenever I’m planning, I like to make a quick snack to munch on. My caramel popcorn made for the perfect afternoon treat. It’s buttery, sweet, and makes for the best melt-in-your mouth treat. The caramel popcorn definitely reminded me of the caramel popcorn I used to eat by the bagful in Chicago. I loved Garett’s popcorn so much, I almost ordered Chicago mix popcorn treats for my New York wedding favors. Lucky for me, I can still get my popcorn fix in New York City. When I’m visiting my family and I get a sudden craving for caramel and cheddar popcorn, I usually just stop by the Garett Popcorn Shop in Manhattan to get my fix. Since there isn’t a Garett Popcorn Shop in Ohio, I get my fix by making my own homemade caramel popcorn. I’m still working on perfecting a version of the cheddar popcorn so stay tuned.
For the caramel popcorn:
· 1 cup freshly popped corn
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
· ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· ¼ cup water
Directions:
1) Prepare the popcorn according to the package instructions.
2) Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add the unsalted butter into the skillet. Stir to melt the butter. Add the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and water. Continue stirring until the mixture begins to dissolve. Turn down the heat to medium low and let the caramel sauce cook until it starts to bubble, about 2-3 minutes.
3) Once the caramel sauce begins to bubble, turn off the heat. Remove the skillet from the stove. Pour the freshly popped corn into the caramel sauce. Work quickly and gently to stir the popcorn into the caramel sauce until every piece is covered in caramel. Let the caramel popcorn cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Takeaways: For an even more indulgent popcorn, you can drizzle on some melted chocolate and/or add some coarse flake salt. The popcorn is freshest when consumed on the day it is made. I’ve also stored the popcorn in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight and the caramel popcorn was still very good the next day.