Lately it seems like I have been wanting to start making things, especially snacks, from scratch instead of buying them in the store. This is not only super easy but it’s fun to make and it will save you a lot of money in the long run. This weekend for movie night I decided that it would be fun to make homemade cracker jack popcorn so I decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make.
You can use store bought popcorn but I wanted to make my own popcorn from corn kernels. To do this all you have to do is buy a bag of kernels, they are right by the microwave popcorn. Place 2 tablespoons of oil for every 1/3 cup of kernels in a large pot and cover with a lid. Turn your heat on medium high, you will start to hear it popping after a few minutes. Make sure to shake the pot around to prevent the bottom popcorn from burning. After it was popped I sprinkled the top with salt..It’s super easy and CHEAP!
Homemade Cracker Jack Popcorn
Now your ready to make cracker jack. Here are the ingredients that you will need:
- 8 Cups of Popcorn
- 1 Cup Peanuts (Optional)
- 3 Tablespoons of Corn Syrup
- 1/4 Cup of Margarine
- 3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and arrange your popcorn and peanuts on a well oiled large baking sheet.
In a 2 Quart sauce pan, combine the brown sugar, margarine, salt and corn syrup and place over low heat.
After everything is melted together, cook for 3 minutes without stirring.
The mixture should be gently boiling during these three minutes.
Add in the baking soda and vanilla and stir.
Stir well and quickly poor this mixture all over the popcorn and peanuts.
Mix the popcorn together gently making sure you coat all of the popcorn evenly.
Bake the popcorn at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes.
When the popcorn is done, break it up into bite size pieces and enjoy! We had a little left over so I sealed the remainder up inside of a ziplock bag and we munched on it the next day as well.
This is a super easy recipe that is fun to make with the kids. It is really good and a nice treat to make for movie night!