I have been a resident of "Carmel" Indiana for 13 years, recipes with "Caramel" ingredients always get my attention. Here is my take on "Cracker Jack Style Caramel Corn":
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
10 cups popped “mushroom-style” popcorn
1-1/2 cups (7.5 ounces) redskin Spanish peanuts
10 Tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter
1-1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup dark corn syrup
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Place the popped popcorn in a large bowl. Add the peanuts on top. Do not stir.
3. Add the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until smooth and bubbling. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully stir in the vanilla extract. The mixture will bubble up.
5. Pour caramel over popcorn and peanuts. Stir quickly and thoroughly to coat.
6. Spread the mixture evenly in a large roasting pan. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure an even coating.
7. Transfer the caramel corn to parchment paper and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.