"I looked out the window.....

.....and what did I see? Yummy caramel popcorn smiling back at me."

I have been busy today working on making our neighbor gifts for this year. Most year I do something store-bought - a bottle of sparkling cider, pop/popcorn, an ornament, etc. But this year in an effort to save money and give a heart-felt gift - I thought I'd make homemade caramel popcorn instead of buying something. Oh goodness! The recipe I have been using (from my Mama Rhien) is DELICOUS. It's the crunchy cooked caramel corn - so if you like it a bit crunchy - this is perfect.

But - if you're making 35+ bags of it - it takes roughly.....um - FOREVER!

So I'm 1/2 way done - hopefully I can finish (or come close) tomorrow. I wanted to get our goodies out to the neighbors/friends before they are all goodied out. I want them to still get to enjoy it. (You know how there comes a point when you have had WAY too many sweets and can't stand the thought of another treat. I wanted to hit BEFORE that happens).

Here's the recipe - it's tasty!

Caramel Corn

• 5 cups popped popcorn
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Light Karo Syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Pop popcorn and take out any of the duds (so you don't break a tooth). Mix butter, sugar, syrup and salt and cook until boiling. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat evenly. Place in an oven-proof pan and bake at 250 degrees for one hour - stirring every 15 minutes. After one hour pour popcorn out onto wax paper, tin foil or cookie sheets until cool. Break apart and enjoy!

(My notes: I used more than 5 quarts of popcorn. It didnt' seem like 5 quarts was enough. I also doubled the recipe each time I made it and cooked the popcorn in my roasting pan - it worked great.)