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Microwave
Caramel Corn
by: Joyce Moseley Pierce
Part of the hesitation in making caramel corn is
the sticky, gooey mess that remains once you've finished making it. You almost
need a blow torch to remove the hardened
sugary stuff from your pans.
Help is on the way! This recipe can be made in
your microwave, and when you're finished, you can just throw the paper sack
away.
This doesn't mean that it doesn't take a little
preparation time, but at least you can relax and enjoy the finished product
without having to worry about a lot of cleanup.
Next time you go to the grocery store, ask for
your groceries in paper bags. You'll need one bag per batch.
Here's what you'll need:
3-4 quarts popped corn
1 stick of butter (no substitutes!)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Karo Syrup
1 tsp baking soda - add last
Pop the corn and discard the unpopped kernels.
Put the popped corn in the paper sack. While the corn is popping, put the
butter, sugar, salt and syrup in a glass bowl and bring it to a boil in your
microwave. Stir after one minute, and let it boil for an additional minute. Add
one tsp of baking soda and stir well, until thickened. It will turn light in
color and look like taffy. Pour this mixture over the popped corn in the paper
bag and shake well. Put the paper bag back in the microwave and cook an
additional 1-1/2 minutes (90 seconds). Remove and shake well again. Return to
the microwave and cook another 1-1/2 minutes. Shake again. Open the bag and let
it cool. You can even tear the bag down the side and speed up the process.
Plan to make more than one batch because you'll
want to eat the first one! Great for Christmas or birthday gifts. I gave this as
a Christmas gift to my co-workers one year and the next year they started
hinting for it again in September.
Once completely cooled, break up the chunks, put
it in a plastic holiday bag and tie with a festive ribbon. If you eat a lot of
ice cream the containers with lids make a great receptacle for packing the
caramel corn. Save your ice cream containers throughout the year, wash them
out, line with plastic wrap and stick a bow on the top. Include the recipe and
directions unless you want to tell them it's an old family secret, but let me
warn you that if you don't share the recipe, they will come back next year
begging for more.
Copyright 2002 Joyce Moseley Pierce
Joyce Moseley Pierce is a freelance writer,
publishes the Family First weekly ezine,
and pushes preparedness beyond food storage.
Visit her site,
www.emersonpublications.com
to register for the newsletter, to read
past issues, to order her book, "All They'll
Need to Know," or just to learn more abouthow you can protect your loved ones.
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