Homemade Cracker Jack
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Growing up, we weren’t routinely allowed to eat junk food, sugary cereals, pop or anything like that. My parents didn’t keep stuff like that in the house and the closest we got to “fun” cereal was Frosted Flakes. But every once awhile we got to enjoy a treat. One of the things I always loved eating was a box of Cracker Jack. I mostly attribute it to my unbridled infatuation with peanuts and peanut butter. Those little caramel-covered peanuts were little bits of heaven. In fact, when I realized that there were no more peanuts left in the box, it was always a slight letdown. Sure, I still enjoyed the caramel popcorn, but the more peanuts the better! Homemade caramel peanut popcorn has been on my list for some time, and I am chastising myself for not making it much, much sooner. This is perfect for packing up and taking with you to the ballpark, stuffing in your purse and sneaking into the movie theater (shh!), eating at home while lounging on the couch, or for packaging up and giving away at the holidays. Bottom line – there is no bad way to enjoy this. And it’s heads and tails better than the boxed original.
This popcorn is actually very simple to make and the only piece of specialty equipment that you need is a candy thermometer. This
is the one I own, and it’s definitely worth its weight in gold. Just think – if you get it, then you can also make the Ale and Pretzel Soft Caramels! To make the caramel, all you do is whisk together the ingredients, let it simmer away and wait for it to hit 250 degrees. Pour over the popcorn, mix in the peanuts, and then pop it all into the oven.
Then, sit back and be prepared to be completely and utterly addicted. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Note: You can use microwave popcorn for this (I would go with plain or “homestyle” – you don’t want that fake butter flavor here), but I definitely prefer popping the popcorn fresh. If you’ve never done it before, check out my tutorial on How to Make Perfect Homemade Popcorn (omitting any butter and salt).
Two years ago: Buttermilk-Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake
Three years ago: Bostini Cream Pie[/donotprint]
Homemade Cracker Jack
Ingredients
- 10 cups (110 g) of freshly-popped popcorn, or 3.5-oz bag of microwave popcorn, plain
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (85.25 ml) light corn syrup
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- 1 cup (146 g) lightly salted peanuts
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- 2. Pop the popcorn. Coat a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and then transfer the popcorn to the bowl; set aside.
- 3. In a small saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and water, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- 4. Turn off the heat, and whisk in the vanilla and baking soda. Immediately pour the hot mixture over the popcorn. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn until all of the popcorn is coated. Gently stir in the peanuts, and transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet, spreading it out.
- 5. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Gently break up the popcorn. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This is not cracker jack, there is no molasses in this receipt. This is only caramel corn.
I made this recipe a couple weeks ago and its AWESOME!
ESPECIALLY EXTRA PEANUTS
OMG! Making it today as well.
Highly recommend.
Hey…anyone actually tried this recipe? Good ? average? Most replies are in a response to how it looks/appears.
I was craving caramel corn last fall. I have us used a couple other recipes from your blog and they always turn out awesome, so came here to see if you had a recipe. Love this! I cannot tell you how often or how many times I have made this. I have started to use puffed corn instead of popcorn (my mother cannot eat popcorn, so she can enjoy it too), though use about 8 cups as the puffs are bigger than popcorn.
I have been playing with the flavoring. I have added whisky at the end with the baking soda and vanilla. Looking for some other fun flavors to add, right now it has a bit of brandy in it. With people complaining about it not being traditional crackers jacks, I am wondering if using some molasses in place of the corn syrup would work. I might have to try this. I also like using dark brown sugar for a more rich flavor.
Thank you!
I followed the recipe to the letter, it looked so good but after the first 20 mins in the oven the caramel started to go black. So I started again and turned the oven down to 175, again the same thing happened, I am using high quality ingredients and Reynolds parchment paper. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Lisa, I would make sure that your oven isn’t running hot by placing an oven thermometer inside. There’s no way it should be burning at 250 degrees F.
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This recipe does not include molasses and is therefore not Cracker Jack. It’s toffee popcorn like Crunch n Munch. Very different flavor.
This looks like a tasty candy coated popcorn recipe. I shall probably try it. However, it can not have a taste like Cracker Jack because it lacks molasses, the signature taste of real old-fashioned Cracker Jack. I haven’t had the product in years, so they may no longer use molasses. However, when I last had Cracker Jack about 15 years ago it was still used in making the product. You would need to play with proportions, but the molasses should supplant the corn syrup if you want the genuine flavor of the original snack.
I think you have to add a little molasses to make it taste just like Cracker Jack. I have a problem getting the peanuts to stick when I add them to my caramel corn. They tend to break away (I think because they have oils in them). Any suggestions on how to get them to stick better? (Maybe that is why there are always peanuts in the bottom of the box.) ha thx for the recipe
Hi Patti, I’ve never had an issue with them not sticking; be sure to stir everything when the caramel is very hot, and to stir it well, ensuring that the peanuts get coated as well. That should be all that you need!
Try using dry roasted nuts.
I will be making this, but without the peanuts (my almost 7 year old son is severely allergic to peanuts).
Hi
I love getting recipes from the internet and this one sounds like a great treat to make and share with friends. Thanks for making it available. There is one thing that would make your site and dishes shared more enticing to viewers and that is a PRINT FRIENDLY option to copy the recipe. I ended up with 17 pages of comments and noticed most were from 2010 just to get the recipe . Hope you can get the option on your site I think it would be a big plus for you.
Hi Pat, There is a print-friendly option available. If you look at the recipe, right above the thumbnail photo, there are three buttons – print, save and email. Simply click “print” and you will be directed to a printer-friendly version that includes just the recipe and thumbnail photo.
Can you use dark brown sugar? I don’t have light brown,
Hi Becky, Yes, you could use dark brown, it’ll just be a tad bit sweeter.
I didn’t see anyone make mention — use honey roasted peanuts!!!!! It makes the coating stick to the peanuts and adds more flavor. Heck, I’d love to just do the peanuts w/o the popcorn. I highly recommend them in this bowl of deliciousness!!
OMD! My kids love Cracker Jacks and those boxes are so little so I had to give this a try. Turned out so yummy in fact it was gone within an hour. I am making a double batch as we speak
I made this today and it is delicious! I was worried about burning it since some people commented on that, so I only baked it 20-25 minutes and mixed it every 5 minutes. It came out really yummy. Great flavor!