Believe it or not, my kids have never eaten Crackerjacks. On rare occasions, my sister and I would enjoy a box. The only thing missing from these is the box and of course, the much anticipated prize. (My favorite prize was always the temporary tattoo.) Since all 3 kids are home , I thought the two older ones could help me prepare this. It was fun for all.
I thought I had large amounts of the necessary ingredients, but I was wrong. I had to add light agave syrup because I ran low on corn syrup, and dark brown sugar was added to the light brown sugar. I couldn't taste the difference. Yummy and all natural. (You noticed how I didn't use the nutritious or healthy.)
This recipe is from the blogger Brown Eyed Baker. Yields 10 cups
10 cups freshly popped plain popcorn
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup lightly salted peanuts
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
- Coat bowl with cooking spray. Place popped corn in bowl
- Place brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and water in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Continue to simmer until the temperature reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. (about 3 to 5 minutes)
- Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and baking soda
- Immediately, pour mixture over popcorn. Use a rubber spatula, and gently fold caramel in until coated
- Stir in peanuts and transfer mixture to baking sheet. Spread out
- Bake 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes
- Gently break up popcorn
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. (you will be lucky if it lasts 10 minutes, never mind 5 days)
-Queenie Cuisine
One of my sons is having a friend over today. As before, I decided to make a simple, yet tasty treat for them. Since I make lots of sweets, I am starting to experiment with Agave Nectar. There are 3 kinds available: Light, (which is what I used in this recipe) it has a neutral, mild flavor. Amber which has a subtle maple-like flavor, and Raw, which is cooked at low temperature, and has a rich flavor. Agave is gluten free, and is 1.4 x sweet as sugar. Lower in calories, and all natural! Quite tasty, and easy to make!
6 cups cooked, unsalted popped popcorn
1/4 cup agave nectar or honey
1/4 cup crunchy natural peanut butter (I used Smart Balance)
1/4 cup + finely chopped chocolate covered pretzels
- Put popcorn in a large bowl (sift out any unpopped kernels)
- In a small saucepan, combine agave and peanut butter over medium heat. Stir gently, but consistently
- Once mixture lightly bubbles, continue stirring for 15 seconds
- Pour mixture over popcorn, and stir with a spatula, until well coated
- Stir in pretzel pieces
- Place on a parchment or wax papered baking sheet and let cool. (mixture will be a bit sticky even when dried)
-Queenie Cuisine
I am on a quest to make my kid's snacks healthier. If I can make homemade granola, then why buy the prepackaged artificially colored, flavored and preserved version? This recipe is supposed be to be cut into rectangles. I found that it did not have enough "stick to it." The "sticking" ingredient is honey. If I used more then the 1/2 cup recommended, then honey would over-power the taste. I chose this recipe because it contained no butter or oils. IF there is any left on Monday, I am going to put some in baggies, and give them to the kids for their school snack. This granola would taste good over ice cream, or baked apples.
2 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup honey
** any dried fruit, nuts, seeds or mini chocolate chips (I chose a 1/2 cup raisins and a 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips)
- Mix all ingredients and press into a greased 11 x 13 inch pan
- The dough will be dry and crumbly, so press until dough forms with pan
- Bake at 325 degrees. Cook entirely for 20 minutes, or until edges are browned
- Cool entirely. Break into chunks
-Queenie Cuisine
