Salted Caramel Popcorn

This recipe (adapted from Paula Dean) exceeded my expectations in every possible way. Caramel tends to be incredibly finicky, but this caramel was easy to make and even easier to toss into the popcorn. It dried perfectly (not too sticky, not too hard) and tasted phenomenal. I made a big bowl for some friends this weekend - they were coming over to watch a movie, and I figured popcorn would be the perfect snack - and the bowl emptied out within minutes. I can't recommend this recipe enough! I drizzled the caramel corn with dark chocolate (completely delicious), but I'd be curious to try white chocolate next time...

Ingredients:
2 100-calorie bags of popcorn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar (do NOT use dark, it won't dissolve!)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Sea salt

Directions:
Pop popcorn in microwave and empty into large glass bowl
Preheat oven to 200 degrees
Over medium heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup, and bring to a light boil
Boil for 4 - 5 minutes
Remove from heat, add in baking soda, and stir well
Pour over popcorn and toss to coat
Spread popcorn in a large baking pan / rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 hour,
stirring every 15 minutes
When done, spread on waxed paper to dry (will harden faster in the fridge - about 30 minutes)
Sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with melted chocolate

4 servings