CHOCOLATE COVERED CARAMEL POPCORN

Christmas time is coming, Christmas time is coming!  Christmas always has been my favorite holiday and celebration.  I love the food, the decorations, and the gatherings.  Tonight my church has our Women’s Christmas Event we celebrate the birth of Jesus, enjoy girl time, and eat CUPCAKES!

The next couple of weeks I am going to dedicate to Christmas cookies and handmade gifts.  No matter what my finances are, I always make edible gifts to give to for my friends for Christmas; and they look forward to them.  There were a couple of years when I was unable to make any gifts, and there was definite disappointment among my friends.  I actually apologized for going out and buying gifts.

Have you had the Moose Munch from Harry & David?  Oh boy is it a treat!  When I get it I keep eating until I feel sick, then I eat a little more.  This Chocolate Covered Caramel Popcorn is inspired by Moose Munch.  My version is less sweet, so I can eat a big bowl of it without getting that sick feeling. 

I made this for our His Caring Place Shopping event, and this is how I packaged it for sale. 
If I were giving this as a gift I would gussie up the bag a little.  You could also use big ol’ Mason jars, or cellophane bags. 

If you know a cuter way to package handmade gifts please let me know in the comments, I would love to hear your ideas.


 

Here’s what you do.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

I had to make 3 batches in my popcorn popper, to get 6 quarts of popcorn. 

Put the popped popcorn in a bowl or a pot that is big enough to not only hold the popcorn, but also to toss and stir it around.

In a 3 quart sauce pan combine the butter, brown sugar, salt and light corn syrup.

Cook it over medium heat.  Once the mixture comes up to a boil, cook it for five minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn. 

I poured in half of the caramel and quickly stirred the popcorn, and then I poured in the remaining half and stirred it to thoroughly coat the popcorn.







Coat two sheet pans with cooking spray.  Spread the popcorn over the sheet pans.  

Bake the popcorn for an hour, stirring it every 15 minutes.

 

Allow the popcorn to cool completely.

When the popcorn has completely cooled, gently break it up with a spatula.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. 

Milk chocolate chips get clumpy when they are melted, so if you prefer milk, use it in bar form.

Use a spatula or a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate all over the cooled pans of popcorn.

Put the pans into the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set.

Use a spatula again to gently break up the popcorn. 

Package the popcorn as desired, and store in a cool place.

I should also mention that this made 8 bags.  To buy about the same amount of Moose Munch will cost about $50; you can make Chocolate Covered Caramel Popcorn for a fraction of the cost.

Makes 6 quarts or 24 cups

6              quarts      Popped popcorn

1              cup         Butter

2              cups       Brown sugar, lightly packed

1              tsp.        Salt

½            cup         Light corn syrup

1              tsp.        Baking soda

1              tsp.        Vanilla extract

1-10          oz. bag   Bittersweet chocolate chips

1.       Preheat oven to 250.

2.       Have your popcorn popped and ready.  Have it in a bowl or pot large enough to hold all the popcorn with room to stir it around.

3.       In a 3 quart sauce pan, combine the butter, brown sugar, salt, and light corn syrup.  Cook over medium heat.  Once it comes to a boil, cook for 5 minutes.

4.       Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract.

5.       Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix well to coat all the popcorn.

6.       Pour the caramel covered popcorn over 2 sheet pans that have been coated in cooking spray.

7.       Bake the popcorn for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

8.       Allow the popcorn to cool completely.

9.       Once the popcorn has cooled gently stir it with a spatula to separate it.

10.   Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, or in the microwave.

11.   Drizzle the chocolate over the pans of popcorn using a spoon or a spatula.

12.   Put the pans into the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

13.   Once the chocolate has set, use a spatula to again gently break up the popcorn, then portion it into bags or containers.  Store in a cool location.

*Note:  If you prefer milk chocolate, then use bars.  Milk chocolate chips may clump when melted. 

    **It took about 3/4 cup of unpopped kernels, and I had to pop 1/4 cup of kernels at a time in my popper, to yield 6 quarts of popcorn.


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