Kid-Friendly Holiday Cooking – Colourful Caramel Popcorn Garlands

Popcorn garlands are an age-old holiday tradition, but why not put a twist on the garland this December and make delicious, festive and oh so colourful caramel corn strands for your tree? Your kids will love this easy DIY treat, and if you are popping with a popcorn maker, like the Cuisinart Theatre Style Popcorn Machine, they will also love watching the fresh popcorn spill out of the kettle. Removable, easy-to-clean compartments make for a quick kitchen tidy up leaving you with more time for taste testing.

Ingredients

1 cup popcorn kernels
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red and green food colouring

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, melt together the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Boil over low heat for five minutes and then remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Divide into three bowls.

Place popcorn on a cookie tray coated with cooking spray. Pour one bowl of the caramel over 1/3 of the popcorn. Toss to coat.

With the second bowl, add red food colouring and with the third bowl, add green food colouring. Immediately pour over evenly divided sections of popcorn. Toss to coat.

Bake for 45 minutes, stirring each section of popcorn with a spatula coated with cooking spray every 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

When the popcorn is cool, use a needle and thread to string the popcorn kernels into colourful garlands. And, of course you can customize the kernel colours to match any holiday décor!

Oh – and be sure to set aside extra for snacking while you string!

Brought to you by Sears Canada. For more kitchen tools to help with your holiday baking, visit www.sears.ca.