Salted Caramel Popcorn Clusters with Toasted Pecans

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Real cooked caramel — sugar, butter and a splash of corn syrup taken to firm-ball stage, then aerated with baking soda — coats air-popped corn and toasted pecans. A slow, low bake dries the coating to a shattering glaze, and a squeeze with buttered hands while it's still warm turns loose caramel corn into craggy handheld clusters. Flaky salt and an optional dark chocolate drizzle keep it from being cloying. Made for a big jar on the counter.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels (about 12 cups popped)
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola (skip if air-popping)
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts (optional, for extra crunch)

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened, for your hands
• 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 250°F (120°C) and line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Spread the pecans on one sheet and toast for 10 minutes, until they smell nutty; set aside to cool, then break any large halves in two. Leave the oven on.
2. Pop the corn: heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high with 3 kernels in it. When those 3 pop, add the rest of the kernels, cover, and shake the pot every 15 seconds until popping slows to one pop every few seconds, about 3 minutes. Immediately dump into your largest bowl. (Air-popped or 2 bags of plain microwave popcorn also work.)
3. Pick out and discard every unpopped and half-popped kernel — they are the only thing that will hurt someone eating this. Add the toasted pecans and the peanuts, if using, and toss. Set the bowl somewhere you can reach it fast.
4. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, water and fine sea salt. Stir over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring, clip on a candy thermometer, and bring to a boil.
5. Boil, swirling the pan occasionally but not stirring, until the thermometer reads 250°F (121°C), firm-ball stage — 5 to 8 minutes. The caramel will be thick and smell toasty. Do not walk away; the last 15 degrees come quickly.
6. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir in the vanilla, then the baking soda — the caramel will foam up pale and doubled in volume. Stir just 5 seconds to combine; that foam is what makes the coating crisp instead of tooth-breaking.
7. Working quickly, pour the caramel over the popcorn and nuts in a thin stream while folding with a silicone spatula. Keep folding for about 1 minute until everything is streaked with caramel — it won't look evenly coated yet, and that's fine.
8. Divide between the two parchment-lined sheets and spread out. Bake at 250°F for 45 minutes, stirring and re-spreading every 15 minutes. The heat thins the caramel so it finishes coating the popcorn, then dries it.
9. Stop stirring and bake a final 15 minutes so the pieces set into sheets. Total oven time is 1 hour. Remove and sprinkle with the flaky salt.
10. Let the sheets cool for 3 to 4 minutes — hot enough to be tacky, cool enough to touch. Rub a little softened butter on your hands and squeeze the caramel corn into loose 2-inch clusters, setting them back on the parchment. Cool completely, about 30 minutes; the clusters crisp as they cool.
11. If using chocolate, melt it in a bowl set over barely simmering water or in the microwave in 20-second bursts, then drizzle over the cooled clusters with a spoon. Let set 20 minutes at room temperature before jarring.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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