Caramel Maple Popcorn

For a hardening caramel:

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 batch of popcorn 

1/2 cup maple syrup

Line baking sheet with parchment and preheat oven to 250F. 

To make stove-top popcorn:

Coat a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot with olive oil spray and place over medium-high heat. To the oiled pot, add 1/3 C popping corn and cover with a lid. Shake the pot every minute or so to rotate the kernels. Once they begin to pop, continue shaking the pot occasionally to prevent burning. Once most of the kernels have popped, remove pot from heat.

To make the caramel:

In another pot, place butter and 3/4 C of the maple syrup over medium-low. Simmer 8-10 minutes, until it reaches “soft ball” stage (it will stiffen when a drop of the syrup is added to a cup of cold water). 

Pour hot syrup over the popcorn and quickly stir to coat. Spread onto the parchment, removing any unpopped kernels, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 250F for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1/2 C maple syrup in your pot, simmering for 5-8 minutes until it reaches “soft ball” stage. Pull popcorn from oven and pour hot maple syrup over top, stirring to coat.