Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a thick-bottomed, 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking, until candy thermometer reaches 250°F or small amount of mixture dropped in ice water forms a hard ball (about 10 to 14 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and vanilla. The caramel will foam up a little. Carefully pour the hot caramel over the popcorn in the large roasting pan. Stir with a wooden spoon until all popcorn is coated. Bake in oven at 225 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove popcorn from oven, stir, bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread caramel corn on waxed paper, allow to cool, break into small pieces. Store in tightly covered container.
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