Looking for the Perfect Summer Snack Food?

School is out! Bring on the road trips, campouts, and pool parties!  I have the perfect snack to take along when you embark upon your summer adventures.

Caramel Puff Corn is easy to make, travels well and is loved by everyone. I just made my first batch of the summer to take along for a weekend at a friend’s lake cottage.  Just one warning: It is highly addictive!

When I was a kid, I always knew there was about to be an “occasion” when I saw my mom making caramel corn. She would pack a big basket of snacks for our summer vacations, camping trips and fair week (my family showed livestock at our county fair).  Caramel corn was a staple in that line-up of snacks.     

Now that I’m a mom, I do the same thing in preparation for summer.  I stock up on healthy snacks and drinks, make batches of granola and party mix, bake extra cookies and treats to keep in the freezer and whip up a few batches of my grandma’s caramel puff corn recipe for the pantry.  (It will stay fresh for weeks if you keep it sealed in plastic zipper bags).

This stockpile of snacks has served me well. It seems that a steady stream of hungry children pass through my house during the summertime.  Not to mention the amount of snacks that we can go through when the lifeguards whistle for  break at the neighborhood pool. Apparently, swimming makes children downright ravenous!

The recipe is titled “puff” corn instead of “popcorn” because it’s made from readymade puffed corn that you can purchase in the snack food aisle at the grocery store.  Using puffed corn sets this recipe apart from other caramel corn recipes because 1) you don’t have to deal with the popcorn seeds while snacking and 2) you don’t have to bother with popping the popcorn before beginning the recipe. You can make this whole recipe from start to finish in your microwave in less than 15 minutes.

Grandma Shirley's Caramel Puff Corn

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 6 oz. bag Puffed Popcorn (plain or buttered) such as Shearer’s Corn Puffs
1 paper grocery sack
non-stick cooking spray

Spray the inside of a paper grocery sack with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in 1 bag puffed popcorn (look for it in your grocery's snack food aisle). Boil the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt for two minutes on the stove top OR microwave the ingredients for 1 minute and 30 seconds, then return to the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in the baking soda and stir until it foams up. Pour into the grocery sack, over the puffed popcorn. Shake well. Fold down top of bag and microwave for 1 minute 15 seconds. Remove and shake. Microwave for 45 seconds. Remove and shake. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and shake. Microwave for 15-20 seconds. Remove and shake. Spread onto waxed paper to cool and dry. Store in an air-tight container such as a resealable plastic freezer bag.

A couple more ideas for sharing Puff Corn:

Caramel Puff Corn is a tasty addition to gift bags.  All of the guests that stayed in the hotel for our wedding found a bag of my grandma’s Caramel Puff Corn and some other goodies waiting in their rooms when they checked in.

If you’re sending a care package, considered using Caramel Puff Corn as “edible packing peanuts” to protect the other contents of your package. What a sweet surprise!

Happy summer snacking, Strongsville!