Caramel Corn With Peanuts And Dried Cherries Recipes

CARAMEL CORN WITH NUTS

Steps:

• Place popcorn in a large bowl; set aside. , In a large heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Cook and stir until candy thermometer reads 238° (soft-ball stage). Remove from heat; stir in baking soda (mixture will foam). Quickly pour over popcorn and mix well; stir in nuts. , Transfer to two greased 13x9-in. baking pans. Bake at 200° 45 minutes, stirring once. Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool. Break into clusters. Store in airtight containers.

PEANUT CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Place popcorn and peanuts in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; set aside., In a large heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, , molasses, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 2-3 minutes without stirring., Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam). Quickly pour over popcorn and mix well., Transfer to a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from pan and place on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container.

CARAMEL CORN WITH PEANUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine popcorn and peanuts. In a medium saucepan combine butter, sugar, molasses, and salt over medium high until butter has melted. Stir once to combine. Bring mixture to a boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 248 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda.
• Working quickly, add caramel to popcorn and peanuts and stir to coat. Transfer mixture to 2 baking sheets, spread out evenly, and bake until crisp, 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let cool completely. Break into clusters.

CHOCOLATE COVERED DRIED CHERRIES

Steps:

• Place the dried cherries in a coating pan attached to a stand mixer. Spin at low speed. Using a ladle, add the chocolate to the spinning cherries. Add one ladleful at a time until the cherries are coated to the desired thickness. (Use a 50/50 ratio (50 percent chocolate, 50 percent weight of the cherries.) If a thicker coat is desired, use more chocolate and vice versa.
• How to Temper Chocolate(From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres):
• Chocolate is tempered so that after it has been melted, it retains its gloss and hardens again without becoming chalky and white (that happens when the molecules of fat separate and form on top of the chocolate). There are a variety of ways to temper.
• One of the easiest ways to temper chocolate is to chop it into small pieces and then place it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until most of the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. (The temperature of dark chocolate should be between 88 and 90 degrees F, slightly warmer than your bottom lip. It will retain its shape even when mostly melted. White and milk chocolates melt at a temperature approximately 2 degrees F less because of the amount of lactose they contain.) Any remaining lumps will melt in the chocolate's residual heat. Use an immersion blender or whisk to break up the lumps. Usually, chocolate begins to set, or crystallize, along the side of the bowl. As it sets, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate to temper it. A glass bowl retains heat well and keeps the chocolate tempered longer.
• Another way to temper chocolate is called seeding. In this method, add small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but is usually 1/4 of the total amount. It is easiest to use an immersion blender for this, or a whisk.
• The classic way to temper chocolate is called tabliering. Two thirds of the melted chocolate is poured onto a marble or another cold work surface. The chocolate is spread out and worked with a spatula until its temperature is approximately 81 degrees F. At this stage, it is thick and begins to set. This tempered chocolate is then added to the remaining non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass has a completely uniform temperature. If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is worked further on the cold surface until the correct temperature is reached. This is a lot of work, requires a lot of room, and makes a big mess.
• A simple method of checking tempering, is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within a few minutes.

HONEY-ROASTED PEANUT AND PRETZEL CARAMEL CORN CRUNCH

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a small saucepan, cook the coconut sugar, honey, brown rice syrup and peanuts over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer registers 290 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the popcorn and pretzels to a large heatproof bowl. Pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn and pretzels, and quickly stir to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spreading out the caramel corn. Sprinkle with salt and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

SUGAR COOKIES WITH PISTACHIO AND DRIED CHERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Open sugar cookie log and press into a rectangle on cutting board. Add pistachios and cherries, press into dough and then re-shape into a log. Slice into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Transfer cookies to a baking sheet.
• Bake 7 to 11 minutes, until golden around the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• While cookies are baking, melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or bowl over simmering water.
• When cookies are cool, dip bottom half of cookies into melted white chocolate and place on waxed or parchment paper to cool.

MISS BROWN'S PEANUT-PISTACHIO CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Grease or butter two large, rimmed baking pans. Combine the popcorn, peanuts, pistachios and sesame seeds in a very large bowl or roasting pan.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, peanut butter and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then cook until the mixture is completely emulsified and there is no visible melted butter around the edge of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. (The mixture will puff up.)
• Pour the mixture evenly over the popcorn mixture and toss well to coat. Divide the popcorn between the two prepared pans, spreading in an even layer. Bake the popcorn for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes and rotating the pans so it cooks evenly. Let cool in the pans, about 20 minutes. Break into pieces to serve.

CLASSIC CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Spray large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in preheated 250 degrees F oven while preparing caramel.
• Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Boil 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla; mix well.
• Pour syrup over warm popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and spread on foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
• Cool; break apart. Store in tightly covered container.

CARAMEL CORN (WITH PEANUTS)

Steps:

• Place popped popcorn in two very large bowls.
• Mix 1/2 pound peanuts into each bowl.
• In 5 quart sauce pan combine all the other ingredients.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat, boil for 5 minutes(no less) stirring constantly.
• Evenly distribute the syrup between the two bowls and stir until well coated.
• Turn coated popcorn into a large roasting pan.
• Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour.
• Remove and break apart while still warm.
• Store in air tight containers.