Caramel Corn & Ultimate Ginger Cookies

When it comes to food and my dad, there's a few things that quickly come to mind: one is making caramel corn with us when we were kids, and the other is his love for ginger.  I remember making caramel corn well, not just because of the delicious reward, but mostly because it took a certain amount of pain; separating the hot, sticky pieces always burned my fingers. I'm glad to report that as an adult, it's much more tolerable and not nearly as painful as I remember!  It's also surprisingly simple.

Caramel Corn

2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
7 1/2 quarts popped popcorn

1.  Pop popcorn and divide between two paper bags - I use grocery bags.

2.  Boil the first 4 ingredients for 5 minutes, reduce heat but keep boiling.

3  Add: 1 tsp. baking soda (keep your eye on the caramel as it will really puff up with the addition of the baking soda!) Stir baking soda into caramel.

4.  Pour 1/2 of caramel over popcorn in each bag.  Quickly stir as much as possible with a wooden spoon - be sure to stir the bottom and corners.

5.  When caramel stops coating popcorn easily, roll top of bag over and place in microwave for one minute.  Stir again. Repeat one or two more times until popcorn is evenly coated. Be careful not to microwave too many times or the caramel will burn.

6.  When caramel is evenly distributed on the popcorn, pour into a wide, shallow bowl and break clumps up with your hands to create separate pieces of caramel corn. Be sure to store leftover caramel corn (if there is any) in an airtight container to prevent it from going stale.

Enjoy!



As I mentioned before, my dad has a love for all things ginger.  His Christmas stocking always has ginger candies and other ginger delectables.  I've had a recipe I found in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook that I've been dying to make for him.  He came over on Sunday so I took the opportunity to try out the recipe.  The results?  He said it is quite possibly the best cookie he has ever had.  My mother-in-law happened to stop by during the baking and tried a cookie.  She called back the next day and asked if she could have a few; when she heard there weren't many left, she figured she'd be happy if she could have just one more.  I guess they really might be the Ultimate Ginger Cookie.

Ultimate Ginger Cookies

Here's the recipe: Ultimate Ginger Cookies

I find the best place to find candied ginger is the bulk section of your grocery store - it's much more affordable than in the spice aisle!  I also made the cookies slightly smaller (using a small icecream scoop) and got about 25 normal size cookies out of the recipe.