Cinnamon Roll Caramel Popcorn

This dessert recipe, Cinnamon Roll Caramel Popcorn, leans on popped popcorn, sticks salted butter and lightly packed brown sugar. It makes 18 cups or so of popcorn and takes about 75 minutes.

• Yield 18 cups or so of popcorn
• Ready in 75 minutes
• Prep 15 minutes
• Cook 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 18 cups popped popcorn (about 3/4 cup kernels)
• 1 1/2 sticks salted butter
• 1 1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 ounces white chocolate (melted)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Grease two large rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
2. Place the popcorn in a really large bowl (or two separate large bowls if you don't have an extra big one).
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When melted add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil while stirring. Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 3 minutes. The mixture will be slightly thickened. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The mixture will bubble so be careful.
4. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix until the popcorn is evenly coated.
5. Turn the popcorn out onto the baking sheets, spreading into an even layer on each sheet. Bake the popcorn for one hour, stirring and tossing every 20 minutes. Move the bottom tray to the upper rack and vice versa each time you stir. The popcorn will deepen in color and harden a bit as the caramel bakes and sets.
6. When the popcorn comes out of the oven, scrape it onto an even layer of parchment or wax paper.
7. Drizzle the white chocolate over the top (using the tines of a fork to drizzle it across or pour the melted chocolate into a freezer quart-size ziploc bag and snip a corner to drizzle).
8. Let the popcorn sit until white chocolate is set, 30 minutes or so. Break into pieces. Try not to eat the entire batch.

Let the center settle before you cut it, or the slices will slump.