Easy Fifteen-Minute Caramel Popcorn

I'm not sure this recipe is from heaven or hell. It allows you to make delicious caramel popcorn without that whole put-it-in-the-oven-for-an-hour thing. Sounds great. Could be bad.

Because that hour thing always discouraged me from making it at all. Now, there are no holds. And, considering the amount of butter and sugar involved in this whole deal, that could be a bad thing.

But let's pretend it's not. It sure made my kids happy the weekend I was able to whip it out without a who lot of hoo-ha. Just fifteen minutes and gorgeous, delicious, homemade caramel popcorn.

Easy Fast Caramel Popcorn
from Two Sisters Crafting
makes a buuunch
Prep time: 15 minutes total
Cost: $2.00
popcorn: .25, butter: 1.30, brown sugar: .30, other stuff: .15

10 C popped popcorn (about 1/3 C unpopped popcorn)
1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
a few handfuls of chocolate chips for good measure--you know, for antioxidants and stuff

Pop the popcorn. Put it in a bowl.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar. Bring to boiling and boil for five minutes, stirring the whole time.

After boiling, add the vanilla. Then add the 1/2 tsp of baking soda. It will bubble and foam and lighten. It's this chemical reaction that is important to the "fast" aspect of this recipe. The chemical reaction aerate the caramel and make it lighter and smoother and easier to coat the popcorn.