Spicy Autumn Spiced Caramel Corn

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This post has a ton of pictures, and lots of mushy feelings. You’ve been warned!

In September, my sister and niece flew down from Canada for a visit, and in October: My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary!! 50 YEARS. 5-0.

My mom was a rebellious middle child, and my dad was a bad boy; it was only natural that they would end up together.

I love the stories my mom tells me about their early days:

• Like the time my grandpa told my dad to get a haircut before he could take my mom out on a date.
• Or the time my dad’s car broke down on the way to picking up my mom for prom. He eventually made it, and they got there just in time for the last dance.
• Or the time they were in a fight and my mom called my dad a SNAKE. *gasp* Oh heavens!

 

This is the only job my dad is allowed to do in the kitchen: mash the potatoes.

I love them both so much. I wish I could have been home to celebrate with them. Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I could afford to fly to NY to celebrate. So we spent a lot of time trying to think of something special to do… and then we found it!

Have you guys heard of Blurb? It’s a site that helps you make books: Hardcover or softcover, filled with drawings, text, photos, you name it!* And since my parents haven’t been able to see my niece in over a year, my sister and I decided to put together a beautiful hardcover book with new pictures of her.

Twenty crisp and colorful pages of this silly, beautiful girl. Blurb was affordable, fantastic quality, and something my parents will cherish forever. I strongly urge you to visit Blurb to see the wonderful and thoughtful creations you can make.

The day my mom got it in the mail, she called me and told me she almost cried. (“Almost” means she definitely did cry.)

I think I’ve talked about this before, but my dad has a MAJOR sweet tooth; and there’s no doubt that I take after him. Fall seems like the only time of year where it’s perfectly acceptable to dive into sugar. But I wanted to make something more than just ordinary caramel corn. So not only does this caramel corn have spices, but it’s SPICY.

Let’s start with the spice blend:

Ingredients for Spicy Autumn Spice Blend

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (if you’re a daredevil, go with a full teaspoon!)

And now onto the caramel corn…

Ingredients for Spicy Autumn Spiced Caramel Corn

• 2 bags of plain microwave popcorn (if you want to pop your own, you will need a total of 16 cups of popped kernels)
• 1/2 C light corn syrup
• 2 C brown sugar
• 1 C unsalted butter, melted and browned slightly
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• All of the spice blend

Instructions for Spicy Autumn Spiced Caramel Corn

1. Preheat oven to 230°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Pour popped, popcorn in two separate bowls (making sure you get rid of any rogue kernels) and set aside.
3. In a medium pot, melt butter on medium-low heat until it browns slightly and smells nutty, then add brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and your spice blend. Stir just to combine ingredients, and then STOP STIRRING.
4. Bring mixture to a gentle bubble over medium heat, and then let bubble away for 5 minutes. (You aren’t stirring, are you?)
5. Remove pot from heat, and whisk in baking soda until just combined. (Watch out, the baking soda makes the caramel foam up a bit!)
6. Pour half of caramel mixture over each bowl of popcorn, and stir to combine. It’s hard to stir popcorn with sticky caramel, I suggest using a rubber spatula, and gently folding.
7. Spread onto baking sheets and bake for 1 1/2-2 hour(s), turning popcorn around every 15 mins or so.
8. Let cool on a wire rack. (The caramel corn will set and get crispy after it’s cooled and dried.)
9. DEVOUR.

[[*Disclosure: I paid for my own Blurb book, and have loved Blurb for quite some time. We are only RECENTLY affiliated with Blurb. The banner to the right of the site will give us a commission (~15%) when you click-through the link and make a purchase.]]

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