school snacks for the whole class are a big responsibility.
to be honest it stresses me out a little. i want to give them something delicious, but healthy. something kids will want, but that parents will be glad i gave them.
you may remember the valentine’s party snacks i was tasked with a few weeks ago. the same dilemma hits every time. for the party, these gummi pretzel hearts were the happy medium i found to fit all those criteria.
so now it was “mystery reader”. friday afternoons a parent comes in just before school pick-up to read a story to the kids and bring a little snack. the kids don’t know which mom/dad is coming in, so it’s all a big surprise… and it was my turn!
that is where popcorn came to mind. a great whole food, full of fiber, and gluten-free! i bought non-GMO kernels and popped my own. because i didn’t want it all sugar-covered, i coated half of the popcorn in cheddar powder from cabot cheese. i love that stuff! sprinkle and done.
each kid got a snack bag of 1/2 cup of each kind of popcorn. they were thrilled… all i could hear while i was reading was crunching.
success!
Caramel Corn
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unpopped non-GMO popcorn kernels
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- coarse salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Pop popcorn with an air popper or on the stove-top in a large covered pot; set aside.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Allow mixture to boil for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour hot mixture over popcorn and stir to coat. Pour popcorn onto prepared pan and spread to an even layer. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake at 300° for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
