Candied Popcorn

I tried two different popcorn recipes this holiday season.  In my opinion, there is something irresistible about fancy popcorn.  My boys and I could eat this stuff all day.  None of these holiday recipes are helping my waistline though!  That's probably why I'll only be making this once a year!  This recipe comes from Erin at The Sisters Cafe.

Candied Popcorn

3 to 3 1/2 batches of air-popped popcorn (each batch is 1/2 c. unpopped corn kernels)
2 cubes butter (1 cup)
1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup

**I used lightly buttered microwave popcorn.  Each bag is equal to one batch.  I also cut the butter in the recipe down to 1 1/2 cubes since my popcorn was already lightly buttered.

First, pop all your popcorn.  Shake the popcorn and then scoop the top layers into a couple large mixing bowls. Leave the heavy and/or unpopped kernels behind.

Melt butter in a large pan.  Stir in sugar and corn syrup. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Continue stirring, on medium heat, until the mixture is completely smooth and is just barely starting to simmer.  (Don’t allow it to boil for long, or the popcorn will harden rather than being soft.) Turn heat off.

Using a ladle, drizzle the sugar mixture over a portion of your popcorn.  Then mix it with a spoon, add another portion of fresh popcorn, drizzle the mixture over it, and stir it around, etc.  Continue until all your mixture is evenly distributed on the popcorn. 

I packaged my candied popcorn into gallon sized twist-tie bags I bought at the grocery store. Or you can store it in tupperware for a few days.