A Cracker Jack Hack
I took that photo on my patio yesterday morning before tucking into what looks suspiciously like a bowl of Cracker Jack. It's not quite the Cracker Jack I remember but it's something far, far better.
I had wildly inconvenient dental methods closing month and after my remaining one, my dentist warned me now not to devour popcorn until my gums healed. Not a trouble due to the fact I by no means devour popcorn. I never eat it this is until a dentist tells me not to.
The surest way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't do something. My dentist's warning about popcorn gave rise to something deep inside of me and I was seized with a craving for not just popcorn but a very special kind of popcorn and something I hadn't eaten since I was around 12.
I became fed on with a craving for Cracker Jack so profound I lack words to describe it correctly. It stored me conscious at night and after I couldn't stand it any more I gave in and sped off to the grocery shop. To my profound horror, Publix doesn't sell the stuff and if Publix does not sell it it can as properly not exist.
Undaunted, I came home and turned to the internet for caramel corn recipes. As a point of order; that word, caramel, is pronounced kar-mel. Pronouncing it with the second A marks you as someone from the west coast. The horror!
Anyhow, I adapted a recipe I found on Recipes.com and I cranked out a king's ransom in Cracker Jack Hack. Let's look at my glorious effort again:
Here's what to do.
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 quarts popped popcorn
- A mess of peanuts
Preheat oven to 250 levels F. Place popcorn in a completely massive bowl.
In a medium saucepan over medium warmness, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Boil with out stirring four mins. Remove from warmness and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a skinny flow over popcorn, stirring to coat.
Place in two big shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 mins, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool absolutely before breaking into portions.That seems definitely reduce and dry but consider me, this is one of the messiest matters I've ever made in my existence. I took some liberties with the unique recipe by way of including extra salt and a lot of peanuts. I think the added salt makes the wonder less cloying and the peanuts are what make Cracker Jack Cracker Jack.
Craving sated, I can now give attention to concealing the evidence from my dentist at my observe up appointment this week.
As incredible as these items is, I made sufficient that I ate my fill on the primary day and now I actually have terrific luggage of the stuff sitting around. The subsequent time I make this I'll cut up the recipe in half. As a facet word, the caramel it makes is extremely good in its very own right. It cools to the consistency and taste of a Sugar Daddy, any other vintage buddy from youth. As first-rate as this repair became, it changed into still lacking one key detail.
Alas, I had no cheap ring or booklet of cheesey tattoos with which to while away my sugar-fueled afternoon.