Tuesday, January 10, 2012

OLD FASHION POPCORN CRUNCH

One of my favorite things has always been popcorn.  When I was a child we did not have a TV for entertainment.  We had long cold winter evenings and we enjoyed them as a family.  After my sister and I did our homework we would settle with our parents at the kitchen table, closest place to the heating stove, and play board games or work jigsaw puzzles.  Someone would invariably make some popcorn and often we would 'spiff it up', to use my dad's term.  This is a take on our 'spiffed up' popcorn!

6 cups popped popcorn
1/3 cup nuts (we used what we had which was black walnuts, today I recommend almonds)
2/3 cup pecans (we used hickory nuts which were regional but tasted a lot like pecans)
2 tbsp melted butter (we used oleo since it was a new thing then)
salt, optional
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (see note above)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the popcorn and the nuts in a large bowl that the melted butter won't hurt.  Add the salt, if using, and the melted butter.  Toss to coat nuts and popcorn.  Spread the mixture out in a large pan with some sides.

Combine the 1/2 cup of butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan; simmer over medium-low heat, stirrng constantly, until the mixture is a light caramel color.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the syrup mixture over the popcorn/nut mixture and stir to coat well.  Let stand until cool then break into serving pieces.  May be stored in an airtight container.

Yield: About 7 cups.
file photo


3 comments:

Linda said...

Yum! I really loved popcorn balls as a kid--I remember my grandma and mother made them to hand out to trick or treaters--that, of course, was way before the razer blade scare and everything had to be store-bought and wrapped. Kids today really miss out on all the great homemade goodies from our youth!
Take care--Linda

Linda C Wilson said...

Linda,
You may have grown up in New York and me in Indiana but we grew up almost the same. One of the things we enjoyed most about trick-or-treating was the delicious homemade goodies we knew we would get in the community. Young people today have a lot of things we didn't have. They are also missing out on a lot of great things we enjoyed!

Linda said...

So true! Have a wonderful weekend! Linda Stoddard