Snack Time

I will admit I absolutely love baking and am growing to love cooking.  I've always loved delicious pastries, pies, bars and cookies.  I love to create new dishes or improve old favorites.  If I could have my own Real Mom of Rural County cooking show I'd focus on quick easy meals, snacks and mostly desserts.  I do have a sweet tooth and at times would prefer dessert as the main course.  If you are like me you may get stuck in the rut of what to cook, what to bake, or what to have on hand for our kids for snacks.  I feel like I make the same ten meals and rotate them throughout the month and then I sit and think, "I wonder how many times a year I fix spaghetti?"  It seems like that's our go-to-meal when I just don't feel like thinking about what to make.  From now and then I will provide meal ideas and recipes for meals, snacks and of course delicious desserts.  One of my favorite snacks to make right now is Caramel Puffcorn.  It is a light fluffy puffcorn drenched in sweet and salty caramel sauce and baked to form a scrumptious candy crunch. The recipe below is for two batches because it is so addictive that your family will gobble it up in no time.

What you'll need for Caramel Puffcorn:
2 bags of Butter flavored Puffcorn
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup white corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Put butter, brown sugar and syrup in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Boil for five minutes then remove from heat and add baking soda.  Caramel will double in consistency.  Pour sauce over puffcorn in a large roaster.  Heat oven to 250 degrees and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  When done baking spread immediately on cookie sheets to cool.  After cooled store in air tight container, if there's any left!

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!"
— Julia Child (My Life in France)