Microwave Caramel Corn

I got this recipe from my sister Ruth. It is easy and delicious. It has come out perfectly every time. I love how fast it comes together. I have another great recipe that is similar, but you bake it for an hour to make the caramel coating crunchy. That one is tasty too, but I don't like to wait an hour for it to bake.

Here's the recipe:

Microwave Caramel Corn

Ingredients

-About 2 bags microwave popcorn, popped (maybe 2-3 cups removed) (4 quarts of popped pop corn

-1 cup brown sugar

-1/2 cup butter

-¼ cup light corn syrup

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-½ teaspoon baking soda

-½ teaspoon salt if using non-microwave popcorn

Directions

1. Place the popped popcorn into a large bowl; shake to allow unpopped kernals to settle to the bottom, then move popcorn into a brown paper grocery bag that has been spayed on the inside with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof dish, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup (and salt if needed). Heat for 1 ½ minutes in the microwave, then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave and cook another 1 ½ minutes. Remove from the microwave and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. (The syrup will bubble up a little, that’s normal.)
3. Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top of the bag once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. (SHAKE WELL!!!) Place the bag in the microwave, and cook 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove (careful—it’s HOT!), shake (watch the bottom of the bag- by this point the bag may start to come apart), flip bag over and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 45 seconds to 1 minute. Dump popcorn out onto a greased cookie sheet, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.

I know this step sounds odd, but it's just like it sounds. Spray the inside of the paper bag with cooking spray.



Here is the finished product: