Salted Caramel Popcorn

(serves 8-10)

So it's been a really really long time since i've blogged, and I have missed it! Unfortunately a few important things have kept me pretty busy over the last 4 months, i.e. getting married!! Now that i'm a wife and have finally semi-settled into this new lifestyle, i can get back into cooking (not that i ever stopped), photographing and sharing recipes. 

We used this recipe for half of our bonbonnaires (little take-home gifts) from our wedding. I don't think it was supposed to be very hard or time-consuming, but somehow it ended up taking longer than we thought it would to fill 80 small jars! I had a few disasters with making caramel sauce (melted a spatula into one batch, got distracted and forgot to stir so burnt another batch) and retired it over to Paul, who did a great job! This was super yummy, probably was harder to fill the jars because we kept eating it! 

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 40 min

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C popcorn kernels
1 T vegetable oil
4 C caster sugar
240g butter, softened
1 tsp salt

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C, and prepare 2 large trays with baking paper.
2. Heat a large pot with the vegetable oil, then place the popcorn kernels in. Swirl the pot regularly to allow even heat as the popcorn kernels start popping! 
When the popping slows down, turn off the heat and remove from the pan and allow it to cool on the trays.
NB. Don't close the lid entirely, otherwise popcorn may get soft!

3. On low-medium heat, place the sugar in a saucepan and allow it to melt, mixing intermittently with a wooden spoon. As the sugar caramelises, keep moving it so it doesn't get too tough!
NB. This can be tricky  (and tiring!) and may take some practice, but just make sure you keep an eye on it and keep stirring! Also, i don't think you can skimp on the butter in this recipe as the caramel gets too thick and gluggy... just enjoy the creamy butteriness!
4. Add in the butter and whisk quickly to allow it to mix in and become smooth.

5. Quickly pour over the popcorn and use 2 spatulas (apparently the caramel won't stick as much to spatulas i read), or wooden spoons to toss the popcorn and spread it out on the try so it forms a thin layer. Sprinkle with salt.
6. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool to harden then break it up and enjoy!

Keep in an airtight container and it will stay good for at least 2 months! We only know because we discovered some leftover jars recently and realised it was still good!

Cleaning tip: After you have finished with the caramel, pour boiling water into the pot and keep on low heat. Add all utensils that have hard caramel on it and the caramel will melt and dissolve so you don't need to scrub so hard after!