The sweet, crunchy goodness of Crackerjacks with the delightful addition of a tart and tasty caramel apple flavor.
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INGREDIENTS
11 cups popped popcorn (1 microwaveable bag)
150g (1 cup) peanuts
300g (1 ¼ cups) dark brown sugar
142g (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
82g (¼ cup) dark corn syrup
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 tsp of Apple Pie Spice
1 teaspoon salt. If you’re using salted peanuts, you can leave this out.
SUPPLIES
A large bowl
A sheet pan
Some parchment paper or SilPat
A saucepan
A spoon or spatula
A candy thermometer
DIRECTIONS
Make the popcorn, using a microwave, a stove, an air popper, or whatever your favorite method is.
Set your oven to 250 degrees F.
Add the popcorn and peanuts to the bowl. Don’t just pour the popcorn in. That will add unpopped kernels to the mix, and we don’t want that. Let the popcorn cool, then transfer it a handful at a time, making sure you don’t pick up any unpopped kernels.
Place a saucepan over medium heat, and add the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, apple cider, Apple Pie Spice, and salt.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, put a lid on the pan and leave it for a minute or two to wash down the sides of the pan. This reduces the chance of unwanted crystallization.
Remove the lid and add your thermometer.
Cook, stirring gently but frequently, until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F.
Pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn and peanuts.
Stir it thoroughly so everything is coated nicely.
Spread the popcorn and peanuts evenly in the pan.
Put the pan in the oven to bake.
Every 10 minutes, remove the mixture from the oven, pour it back into the bowl, mix it, then return it to the pan and the oven.
I repeated this 3 more times, for a total of 40 minutes in the oven. Your cook time may be different, depending on your oven.
Remove the popcorn and peanuts from the pan and let it cool completely.
