Sunday, October 30, 2011

Weekend Cooking: Fancy Caramel Corn

We have had one of the best autumns here in Portland -- glorious leaves, crisp weather, not as much rain as usual.  My neighborhood has gone all out for Halloween, everything from an over-the-top haunted house that kids line up around the block for, to magazine-pretty displays of pumpkins and Indian corn.

So it seems like the perfect day to make some of this caramel corn my sister keeps crowing about.  She's a chef in Bavaria, at the fancy Steigenberger Hotel about an hour west of Munich, and wanted to introduce her German co-workers to a traditional American treat to get them in the mood for Halloween. 

She says it is super easy and has been experimenting with various additions.  I'm going to try her version of Chili-Roasted Pumpkin Seed Caramel Corn.


Here are her in structions:

Pop just under one cup of popcorn kernels in regular oil and set aside. [Note: Our family has never been air poppers, but I suppose air popping the corn would work.]

Cook 2 cups regular sugar and 2 cups butter and 1/4 tsp. salt on the stove until a dark amber color, constantly stirring. Add grated fresh nutmeg and vanilla also, if you want. When caramel is ready, pour over popcorn, and throw in some handfuls of the toasted seeds, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, whatever, and stir together until all the popcorn is coated. Spread out in a thin layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool. Crumble into a big bowl when cool, or into a large plastic sack to keep.

Yum! Thanks Sis!





WEEKEND COOKING

6 comments:

  1. I could eat that all day! It looks and sounds delicious!

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  2. Oh wow. That sounds so easy. I adore popcorn and we don't air pop either. It just doesn't taste the same. :)

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  3. Sounds yummy, I've been looking for a good carmel corn recipe, thank you.

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  4. Oh, the nutmeg and vanilla as well as the seeds in there sound wonderful to me!

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  5. Your sister's caramel corn sounds delicious. We love popcorn in our family too - the real stuff, not air-popped. I've been working on a post for a future Weekend Cooking that talks about the varieties of popcorn. I will be sure to link to this post.

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  6. Lola: I agree. Luckily, Sis is coming home for a visit, so I want her to make a tone for me.

    Beth: Good to know we aren't the only anti-air popcorn people! Thanks, again, for hosting such a fun weekly event.

    Coreena: You are welcome. I ran out of time to try it myself, so I hope it is as easy as it looks.

    Kathy: I agree. I might try it with almonds, because I have a bunch of those. But I love the chili pepper idea.

    Margot: Please do! I look forward to your popcorn post. What a fun idea!

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