Homemade Caramel Corn

Caramel Corn is one of my mother's favorite treats, and this mother's day, I decided to make her some and send it.  Of course, I wanted to make her really tasty AND nutritious caramel corn, skipping the refined sugars and corn syrup.  To do so, I found a recipe on-line and then adapted it using only whole food, organic ingredients. 


To my delight (and my husband's!), the caramel corn turned out fantastic and had a rich, deep, authentic caramel flavor.  Luckily, I made a large batch, so even though I "tested" it several times during the process, some still made it into the package to be shipped to my mom!

Homemade Caramel Corn

Ingredients:
7 quarts organic plain popped corn (buying this in bulk at the health food store and then air popping it is the best/easiest way to go!)
2 cups Rapunzel Organic Whole Cane Sugar
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1 tsp. sea salt
1 c. organic butter
1/2 tsp. aluminum-free baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1.  Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans.  Set aside. 
2.  Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.  Combine the sugar, maple syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend.  Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
3.  Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.  The mixture will be light and foamy.  Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. 
4.  Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes.  Line the counter top with waxed paper.  Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces.  Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags. 

(Adapted from "My Amish Friend's Caramel Corn" by ANITALOUISE from allrecipes.com)

Corn is now commonly genetically modified, so be sure to obtain organic popcorn for this recipe...
(Dr. Mercola has compiled helpful research about the health consequences of eating genetically modified foods.)