Bacon Cashew Caramel Popcorn

The absolute best caramel popcorn recipe in the world!!

It's even amazing without the bacon... so just imagine how good it is with the bacon....

Complexity Level:  Easy

Bacon Cashew Caramel Popcorn
What You Need:
16 cups Popped Popcorn (please remove all unpopped kernels)*
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Corn Syrup (dark or light)
1/2 cup Butter (one stick)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Vanila Extract
1 cup Sliced Bacon (can use turkey or vegetarian!)
1 cup Sliced Cashews
1/8 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
*If using microwave popcorn, this is about 7 bags

To start, pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  Pour all the popped popcorn into a large roasting pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Place into the oven to warm the popcorn while you prepare the caramel. Also, if you haven't already cook your slices of bacon, then slice them to create small strips.  1 cup will be about 9 strips of bacon.



Turkey Bacon cut into strips (gotta make it somewhat healthy... right?! 



Soon this will be turned into a delicious food masterpiece!!!

 Next, mix the butter, corn syrup, salt, and brown sugar into a sauce pan.  Stir until melted together, then bring to a boil and let cook 5 minutes without interruption or stirring.

After the 5 minutes, remove the pot from the heat, and whisk in the baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Note:  this will cause the mixture to rise and bubble, and this is a god thing!

This is what it looks like when boiling

After adding the baking soda, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Finally, sprinkle the bacon and cashews over the popcorn, then pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn, stirring to coat.  Place the roaster back into the oven and bake 45 minutes.  After the first 25 minutes, stir to evenly coat the popcorn.  But other than that, let the oven do all the work!

After baking, pour onto foil to cool for 15-20 minutes.  Once cool, break apart and store in air tight containers or bags... of course, thats after you gobble up as much as you can!

Mix it up!  Don't fear variations.  You can ex the bacon and cashews and add your favorite ingredients such as Hazelnuts, Rosemary, Thyme, Pretzels, etc

Makes about 12 servings.

This recipe goes to friends who just got married, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel and Tonya C.  Recently we all were able to meet up for dinner in the snowy mountain of Utah, and discovered 4 things in life that belong together:  Bacon, Cashews, Caramel, and Popcorn.  And so a recipe was born! How can you go wrong with that!?

I hope you enjoy!  Thanks for "popping" by!

Aimee Gonzalez