During the holidays, Trader Joe's is a minefield of treats, from Peppermint Joe Joe's to chocolate advent calendars to Jingle Jangle candy-pretzel mix. You almost have to put on blinders…
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Popcorn is due for a comeback. An aluminum tub of slightly stale popcorn -- plain, cheddar and caramel -- was an ‘80s Christmas staple. Now, it just seems like a cheap office gift ordered from some terrible catalog. Long before kettle corn took over the popcorn scene, there were "gourmet" popcorn shops at the mall. After picking up some jeans at Miller's Outpost, you could pick up popcorn dusted in flavors like Barbecue, Sour Cream and Onion, and Ranch. Ah, the good ol' days.
With kettle corn overshadowing everything else in the popcorn universe, it’s been easy to forget about good ol’ caramel corn. The thing is you don’t have to go to the mall or wait for Christmas. Making caramel corn at home isn’t that hard and it’s just not that expensive. Let’s make some caramel corn with salty peanuts. It’s time.28
I had a brief moment of panic. The sugar and water was quickly moving from golden brown to mahogany, so I took it off the heat. It continued to bubble and I thought, what, I’m just supposed to pour this cream and milk in here and hope it doesn’t splatter hot sugar syrup on contact? Apparently, yes. When the cold hit the hot, the sugar seized into a glob. Great. I put the pan back and on the heat and kept whisking. As Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Is Salted Caramel ice cream hell? Well, no. With this recipe, it just might be heaven.
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