You know that recipe I promised you weeks ago?

Whoops.

I honestly had every intention of keeping up with blogging, but during school semesters, my life is consumeddd. Plus side?  It’s the first recipe in my 12 Days of Christmas event.  My hope to bring back blogging for as long as possible before spring semester swallows me whole.

So, on the first day of Christmas, I’m giving to you: French Toast White Chocolate Caramel Popcorn.

Have you ever gone to Target around this time of year and looked at all the gourmet popcorn packages they have?

Who am I kidding?

Of course you’ve been to Target this time of year.

But no, really: Holiday Drizzle Caramel Corn, Cinnamon Pecan Caramel Corn, Macadamia Nut Caramel Corn.  That’s my weakness.  The trashed up holiday goodies.  You see, my husband prefers good ole plain popcorn.  Me on the other hand?  I want that stuff topped with crunchy caramel, French Toast seasoning, and a drizzle of white chocolate.

Because no dessert-like item is complete without adding some sort of chocolate.

Am I right?

Right.

The worst part about making my own was that it made about 10x more than what you would receive in those little holiday packages and I have none left!

Did I mention my husband hates this stuff?

I couldn’t help it.  It was just that good!

French Toast White Chocolate Caramel Popcorn

• 1/2 c unpopped popcorn kernals*
• 1/2 c unsalted butter
• 1 c packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 c light corn syrup
• 1 tbsp. Pampered Chef French Toast popcorn seasoning*, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 5 oz white chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Pop popcorn and place in large bowl, removing any unpopped kernals.

Place the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, French Toast popcorn seasoning, and salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and allow mixture to boil for about 5 minutes without stirring.  Remove the sauce pan from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda until it becomes glossy-looking.

Pour about 1/2 of the caramel mixture over the popcorn and mix.  Pour the second half over top and mix again trying to coat each piece of popcorn evenly.

Pour the popcorn onto a prepared baking sheet (I just lined mine with foil for easy clean up) and spread out until you have a fairly even layer of popcorn.  Bake for 1 hour, mixing every 15 minutes.

Once popcorn is done baking, remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Once cooled, melt white chocolate with about 1/2 tsp coconut oil (I find this helps the white chocolate become runnier and results in easier drizzling).  For this next step, I used the Pampered Chef Chocolate drizzler *, but you could always place your white chocolate into a plastic bag and snip off a very small tip from the corner. Once you’ve finished drizzling the white chocolate, immediately sprinkle more seasoning on top (I really wanted this to have that French toast taste).

Allow popcorn to set at room temperature to harden chocolate before breaking into clusters.  Store in an airtight container up to a week (if it lasts that long).

 

*The links take you to my personal consultant site which means I receive a small commission on all purchases.  This recipe is not a Pampered Chef recipe and not all recipes during this event will use Pampered Chef products.