Double Good Cheesy Caramel Popcorn Food

CHEESE AND CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• For the cheese popcorn: Toss the popcorn with the melted butter in a large bowl until evenly coated.
• In a separate bowl, combine the Cheddar powder, mustard powder and white pepper. Fold the mixture into the popcorn in two additions and toss until evenly coated.
• For the caramel popcorn: Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.
• Evenly spread the popcorn out on the baking sheet. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepot fitted with a candy thermometer (see Cook's Note). Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof rubber spatula; be careful: the caramel will bubble up a few inches as it cooks. Cook until the caramel reaches 248 to 250 degrees F (firm ball stage). Immediately turn off the heat and carefully stir in the salt and baking soda; the caramel will bubble up again when you add the baking soda.
• Spray a second heatproof rubber spatula with cooking spray. Immediately, and very carefully, pour the caramel evenly over the popcorn. With the greased spatula, carefully fold the caramel into the popcorn to coat; not every kernel will be completely coated, but the caramel will be evenly distributed. Break up any large chunks with the spatula. Set aside to cool completely, at least 15 minutes.
• To serve: Combine the two popcorns together, breaking up any remaining large chunks of the caramel popcorn if necessary. Serve immediately.

CRAZY CORN! (CHEESY CARAMEL POPCORN)

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 250°F. Coat a large roasting pan with some butter and place the popcorn in the pan. Set aside.
• 2. Place the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Continue to boil without stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and baking soda, and whisk until the caramel is light in color, foamy, and has doubled in volume, about 10 seconds.
• 3. Immediately drizzle over the popcorn, stir with a rubber spatula until thoroughly coated, and spread into an even layer.
• 4. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes with a rubber spatula and scraping up any caramel from the bottom of the pan, until a cooled piece of popcorn is very crunchy, about 45 minutes to 1 hour total. (To test for doneness, take a few pieces of popcorn out of the oven and let cool for 30 seconds. If they're crunchy, then the caramel corn is done.)
• 5. Transfer the caramel corn to a work surface or rimmed baking sheet to cool completely (it will crisp as it cools).
• 6. If you want to make your own cheese popcorn. Just pop your popcorn, coat with some butter and toss. Then coat with dry cheese sauce mix (such as the cheese packets you get in your kids kraft macaroni and cheese) and toss again.

CARAMEL AND CHEDDAR POPCORN MIX

Steps:

• For the Cheddar popcorn: Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and fold in the popcorn to coat. Sprinkle in the cheese powder and mustard powder. Fold together to evenly coat. Transfer to a large serving bowl.
• For the caramel popcorn: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and generously spray with nonstick spray.
• Wipe the large pot clean of any excess popcorn residue. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter to the same pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to let it boil, without stirring, until it turns a deep golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, vanilla and baking soda. Gently fold in the popcorn until well coated (spraying a rubber spatula works well, here!). Transfer the popcorn to the prepared baking sheet and bake until the caramel has melted around the popcorn and nicely coats the kernels all over, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheet, about 10 minutes. Break into pieces and add to the serving bowl.