Recipe Post

I tried my hand at two new cooking arenas this week: Crock Pot Cooking, and Candy Making. The crock pot recipe was terrible (please post some good ones if you have them), but the candy was amazing. Thank you Diary of a Foodie!

Carmel Corn Clusters

2T vegetable oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
1 stick unsalted butter
1.5 cups of light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4t salt
1/2t baking soda
1 cup salted peanuts

--Heat oil with 3 kernels in a 3-quart saucepan, covered, over medium head until 1 or 2 kernels pop. Add the rest of the kernels, then cook, covered, shaking the pan frequently, until kernels stop popping. Remove from heat and uncover.

--Line bottom of a large shallow baking pan with foil. Lightly oil foil. Melt butter in a 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat. Add brown sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring, then boil without stirring until syrup registers 300 degrees on a candy thermometer (around 8-10 minutes). Remove pot from heat

--Using a wooden spoon or a heatproof spatula, stir salt and baking soda into syrup, then quickly stir in peanuts and popcorn to coat. Immediately spread mixture in baking pan as thinly and evenly as possible. Cool completely, then break into bite-sized pieces.