Caramel Corn

This caramel corn is such a tasty treat!  The coating has great flavor and the baking method makes it deliciously crunchy.  A large bowl of this disappears quickly whenever I make it!

10-12 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda


Put the popped popcorn in a roasting pan, removing any kernels that didn't pop so that you don't crack your teeth on them later. Put the roasting pan in the oven and preheat to 250 degrees (this step is not essential, but it helps to get the popcorn warm while you make the caramel so that you can coat the popcorn without the caramel cooling off too quickly).  In a medium size sauce pan, heat the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup on medium heat.  Bring to a boil for 1 minute.  Add salt and baking soda, then stir until mixture becomes foamy.  Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn.  Stir to coat the popcorn with the caramel sauce as evenly as possible, but don't worry if it doesn't look even because it will spread more thoroughly as you continue to bake and mix it.  Return the roasting pan to the oven and bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees, removing the pan to stir every 30 minutes.  Lay out a long sheet of wax paper on a flat surface. When popcorn has finished baking, spread it out evenly to cool on the wax paper, breaking up any large clumps. Store in an airtight container once cooled.