Stages of Halloween Night

The mist has settled and the pumpkins have been carved with minimal bodily injury, their faces glowing in the darkening and relatively cool night of October 31st, and you have already tied yourself into your flannel robe because it’s 7:00. Trick or treaters have more or less deserted your house because it is past seven and you turned out the lights because it’s now time for your own spooky night of fun: movies and copious amounts of sugar. For the sugar, if you have not pilfered through your stash of trick or treater’s candy, here is a fairly easy recipe I learned as a child for caramel popcorn.

What you will need:

• 2 aluminum baking trays
• 1 saucepan
• 2 popcorn packets
• 2 cups of firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
• ½ up of dark corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon of molasses
• 1 teaspoon of salt (I like A LOT of salt however, (yes, I salt, salted popcorn) so salt to your heart’s content, but keep in mind your cholesterol will not thank you but your tastebuds will)
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda

1. What you will need to do first is pop one or two bags (probably two, after all there still needs to be popcorn left after the previews).
2. Dump all the popcorn between the two baking trays.
3. Maybe preheat the oven to 250°
4. In a saucepan on medium heat bring the brown sugar and butter, corn syrup and molasses to a boil stirring continuously. Your arm’s going to get tired, but it will be worth it
5. Allow the mixture to boil for 3-5 minutes resisting the urge to stir it too much.
6. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
7. Add the salt and baking soda and stir until everything is combined.
8. Pour the mixture all over the popcorn and make sure every popped corn is coated.
9. Now, this is essential, if you can wait for it, (I can’t often) bake the popcorn at 250° for 45 minutes to an hour
10. Allow the popcorn to cool, some say you should break apart the popcorn, but honestly, is it going to last that long?

Finally, snuggle up in your favorite Vermont Flannel™ Stadium Blanket, I like the Campbell, and settle in for your spookyspookyspooky, don’t jump if something goes bump, night!

A few of our favorite classics here at Vermont Flannel™ are, Hocus Pocus, Bugs Bunny Howl-Oween Special, Halloweentown and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but don’t let us sway you!