Homemade Cracker Jack
Vacations are a healthy way to recharge your batteries. Unless you’re in a very comfortable financial position, most people work all year round and only have a few weeks to relax. It’s certainly not enough and that is why everyone looks for other ways to take mental and physical breaks before their next vacation.
David and I have been pretty lucky as we’ve been able to take two to four months off a year. We’re not retired yet but we’re working towards it. When we’re not vacationing, we like to play golf, read and also watch movies… it’s a nice way to be entertained and also take our mind off work.
We try to dedicate at least one movie night a week – it’s not always obvious with me filming many of our dinners. Nonetheless when we do, I like to have something to snack on like my onion dip along with my lightly salted chips, my party mix, homemade salsa, beer cheese dip, spiced nuts, nachos, spinach artichoke dip, and many more including this one… Homemade Cracker Jack!
If you gave me a case of the commercial ones, I wouldn’t take them! When I started making my own, I never went back! My Homemade Cracker Jack version is so much better because I’m in the control seat for how much peanuts to add to it, how sweet I want the mixture to be as well as the amount of sodium in it – the only thing missing is the toy inside. Last time I had “the box” was back in the 90s’ and I was so disappointed… barely any peanuts and the taste wasn’t nearly as intense as before.
It doesn’t take that much time to make to get delicious results. Like I always say – “recipes are guidelines therefore adjust them to your liking”. That being said, I’m not too keen on a high volume of molasses and prefer more sweetness to mine. We also love peanuts so in my recipe, I’m quite generous with the amount. For the popcorn, I simply use my hot air machine – I don’t care about the microwaved ones as I find there’s a “funny” taste in the background. Again, pop your kernels the way you prefer…
Homemade Cracker Jack is one way to enjoy popcorn but I have other flavors as well like Cheddar Cheese, Ferrero Rocher, Buffalo Ranch and Pink – the last one is perfect when I want to watch some “chick flick” movies! As you see, there are other ways to enjoy these fluffy little guys!
When we’re not vacationing somewhere, we definitely need our minds to escape reality and “movie night” does it! With a big bucket of Homemade Cracker Jack, a comfy blanket and a tall glass of water, we sit in our dark living room watching the big screen and let our brains wander until we go on our next trip…
Bon Appétit!
Check out these other delicious snack recipes…
– Spicy Holiday Chocolate Bark
– Sesame Snaps
– Sucre à la Crème – Butter & Cream Fudge
– Jalapeño Bacon Cheese Dip
– Bounty Chocolate Bites
– Homemade Pretzels
– Paçoca
– Chocolate Mint Nanaimo Bars
and for even more snack recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Snacks
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Homemade Cracker Jack
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Ingredients
- 14 cups popcorn, un-popped kernels discarded
- 2 1/2 cups roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup flavorless oil (canola, grapeseed, etc.), or as needed tips & tricks
- 11 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup tips & tricks
- 3 tbsp. molasses
- 1/2 tbsp. ground Himalayan sea salt, divided and to taste
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200ºF.
- In a large bowl (or two), combine popcorn and peanuts; stir and set aside.
- Grease the bottom and up the rims of two large baking sheets with flavorless oil; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses and ¼ tsp. salt; stir until the butter and sugar are melted.
- Attach a candy thermometer and let the mixture simmer, undisturbed, until the temperature reaches 250ºF, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Immediately pour it over the popcorn-peanut mixture; stir to coat evenly.
- Divide the popcorn mixture between the two prepared baking sheets and spread evenly into a single layer. Sprinkle salt on top.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake until the mixture is drier, about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let the popcorn cool completely, about 2 minutes, before transferring to a bowl or bucket.
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