A yummy homemade caramel corn snack! Sort of like cracker jacks with pretzels X 1000.
Ingredients
6 cups plain popcorn ( a bag of microwave is fine but I don't have a microwave!) See Note
3 cups pretzels-- knots or snaps work great
¾ cup unsalted peanuts (I used dry roasted)
1 teaspoon salt (sea or kosher!!)
¼ cup water
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Place the popcorn in a large bowl and pick through to remove any unpopped kernels (they will stick to the caramel and the hard pieces are not good for your teeth!).
Add the pretzels and peanuts.
Scatter the salt over everything.
Heat the water in a small saucepan. Dump the ½ cup sugar right in the center. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil (it only takes a minute or less). Remove the lid, stir (if the sugar is not completely incorporated into the water at this point) and continue cooking until the liquid is a pretty caramel-amber color.
Place the pan in the sink and add the heavy cream. It will bubble. Stir until it's smooth. Add the vanilla. Stir.
Pour the caramel over the popcorn, pretzels, and nuts. Stir to incorporate and coat.
Let it cool and then break the bigger chunks apart. Eat! Enjoy!!!
Store in an airtight container.
Notes
I pop my own popcorn stovetop. The perfect amount for this recipe is to place 2 teaspoons oil in the bottom of a 2 quart saucepan, heat the oil (covered) with ONE popcorn kernel until it pops. Then scatter popcorn kernals across the bottom of the pan to mostly cover it in a single layer. Shake the pan over the heat until the pops have slowed to about 3 seconds apart. It should be mostly full. Remove from the heat and empty into a large bowl to continue with the recipe.
Recipe by Sugar Dish Me at https://www.sugardishme.com/caramel-popcorn-pretzel-snack/