Hi there.

I made you something.  Essentially, I dumped your pantry into caramel and called it a snack.  

I have given a lot of thought to snacks as of late, firstly, because I love snacks, and secondly, because I am about to go on a trip.  Traveling makes me hungry and if the airport does not sell those ridiculously good organic cheetos then I am going to need a back up plan. 

Well, hey there caramel popcorn.  I’m just gonna dump about 2 pounds of you in my purse and that should be enough to last me for at least an hour.

In my mind, caramel corn is inherently autumnal, but I wanted to give it just a little more of that Fall flavor.

Enter pecans, nutmeg, tiny dried blueberries, and pretzel crisps, because I put pretzels in whatever I can. 

Do you dip pretzels in your ice cream?  Yes?  Let’s be friends.  You bring the ice cream, I’ll bring the pretzels.

I’m imagining that I’ll be sitting next to Alton Brown on the flight, and I’ll share some of my popcorn with him and, of course, he will love it and then I will faint and wake up with his autograph tattooed on my arm.  Hmm…  It gets so weird so quickly.

Then I think, in reality, I’ll probably sit next to someone with a popcorn allergy and I won’t be able to open my plane snack and then I’ll pass out from hunger and wake up to find that my flight buddy stole my phone.  Paranoid?  Maybe.

I have no control when it comes to caramel corn.  Like seriously, NO control.  My sister and I can and will eat an entire batch of this stuff in about 1.42 hours.

I have to go pack.  Of course, by “pack” I mean that I have to go find someone willing to sit on my suitcase while I attempt to zip it.  I’ll just bribe them with popcorn. 

Love you, bye!

Sincerely, 

  Pedantic Foodie

Autumn Caramel Corn

• 2/3 cup popping corn
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup 
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
• 2 cups pretzel crisps, crushed 
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries 
• 1 cup raw pecans, roughly chopped 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Cover the bottom of a heavy pot with olive oil and place over medium high heat.  When the oil begins to shimmer add popping corn and cover with lid.  When you no longer hear the corn popping, remove from heat.  Transfer the popped corn to a large roasting pan and place in oven while you prepare the caramel. 

In a small saucepan combine butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and salt.  Place the pan over medium high heat and stir until butter has melted.  Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for five minutes without stirring.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in baking soda, vanilla extract, and nutmeg.  Pour the caramel over the popcorn and toss until all the corn is coated evenly.  Stir in pretzels, blueberries, and pecans.  Return the pan to oven and bake for 45 minutes, toss every 10 minutes to ensure even coating.

Spread the popcorn out unto a baking sheet lined with parchment and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!