Cavities, anyone?

I made caramel corn tonight for the first time, and it was delicious.  But there isn't anything more comedic than looking around a room full of loved ones to see every last one of them picking their teeth with their fingernails in silence because no one could wait until the caramel corn was set up to eat it. Totally worth the extra tooth brushing time needed, though, I might add.

Homemade Caramel Corn

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 quarts popped popcorn

Spray a roasting pan or shallow baking dish with cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 250.  Pop 4 quarts worth of popcorn the old fashioned way, over the stove.  Pour the popcorn into the roasting dish.
In a heavy duty saucepan, heat the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt until it reaches a full boil, stirring constantly.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and let it boil for five minutes untouched.  Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.  Pour the caramel over the popcorn, stirring until very well coated with a rubber spatula.  Bake 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Turn out onto parchment ande stir with spatula, breaking apart as it cools.  Let cool twenty minutes and break apart last pieces.  Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week. 

My awesome sister in law kept sneaking bites, and got busted in the act.

It was a success, and kept everyone blissfully silent for a few minutes munching before the twenty minutes was up, and the caramel was still chewy.  Delicious!