Almost Cracker Jacks

from my mom

NOTE: Recipe cannot be doubled 

One large plastic bowl

4 qt air-popped yellow popcorn (or microwave popcorn or movie popcorn from Lee's)

1/2 cup salted butter

1/4 cup Karo syrup 

1 cup brown sugar (for best flavor, use 2/3 cup golden brown sugar and 1/3 cup dark brown sugar) 

1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt (depending on what kind of popcorn you used) 

1 tsp vanilla 

Put popped popcorn in large plastic bowl. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, microwave butter, Karo syrup, and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Remove and stir. Microwave an additional 2 minutes. Make sure it is bubbly and the sugar has been well-dissolved. If not, do a minute or more until it is bubbly and mostly smooth. Remove and stir. Add salt. Add vanilla. Stir. It will bubble up furiously for a minute.  Pour over popcorn in bowl. Using long handled spoon or silicone spatula, stir to coat popcorn somewhat evenly. Microwave for 1 ½ minutes. Stirring every 30 seconds. Remove and stir well. Microwave an additional 1 ½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir well. Pour onto parchment lined cookie sheet. (Note: parchment not pictured. Sorry!) Allow to cool, then break up into chunks and enjoy! IF there is any remaining, put in a ziploc bag.

Note: Either microwave popcorn or air pop popcorn works in this recipe as long as the air popped popcorn is yellow popcorn and not white. White has too fragile of a flake and shrivels. Believe me, I have tried and it doesn't turn out nearly so good. Lee's is a local grocery store in my area that sells a big bag of movie popcorn for $5/bag. It was perfect for this recipe! And then we had movie popcorn AND cracker jacks to enjoy! Whatever you choose for your popcorn, hope you enjoy this recipe!

Jello Popcorn

1 (3oz) pkg Jello (any flavor) I like cherry or strawberry or whatever
1 cup sugar
1 cup karo syrup

Bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and pour over popcorn.

Old Fashioned Cinnamon Popcorn

from HomeEc in school

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Karo syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon or vanilla
2 quarts popped popcorn (1/2 cup unpopped)

Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in soda and cinnamon. Gradually pour over popped popcorn, mixing well. Turn into large shallow baking dish or roasting pan. Bake at 250 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool and enjoy.

Caramel Corn Pops

from Susan

16oz bag of Barrel of Fun Corn Pops
2 cups brown sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cube butter
1 cup Karo Syrup

Bring to a boil and stir. Boil for 3 minutes. Pour over puffs. Pour onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet to cool. Eat and enjoy. Keep any extra in a large ziploc bag.

Note: I am going to put this in a popcorn category because it is similar to caramel corn but without the kernels. It is super yummy.

If you like the thought of having the puffs rather than actual popcorn (and not having to pick kernel pieces out of your teeth), just use the puffs instead of popcorn in these other two recipes: Almost Cracker Jacks and Caramel Corn. Just make sure you omit the salt in those recipes or it will be too much (the pops are already slightly buttery and salty).

Caramel Popcorn

from Kathleen

1 cube butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Karo Syrup
3 bags microwave popcorn

Boil first 4 ingredients, stirring very often, until it reaches soft ball stage. A little above Medium temperature works well. In very large bowl, pour sauce over popcorn and stir to coat evenly. Let set up on wax-paper lined cookie sheet for a few minutes. Makes about 15-16 cups.