Cinnamon Popcorn

Pop 3 bags of microwave popcorn.

Put 12 ozs cinnamon imperials (little, round, red hot candies) in 2-cup measuring cup, and fill the rest with granulated sugar.*

Pour into saucepan with 2 sticks of butter and ½ cup light corn syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring often until candies dissolve, then stir occasionally.

Remove from heat. Stir in ½ tsp baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla.

Pour over popcorn and mix well. Bake 1 hour at 250º, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

*The sugar measuring instructions do seem strange and imprecise, but this is another never-fail popcorn recipe. I pour the sugar over the candies to the 2-cup measure mark, give a very gentle shake, and add more sugar, if necessary, to reach the mark again. For years, I've not been able to find 12 oz packages of red hots, so I buy in whatever quantity they're packaged and divide bags. Most often, I've found them in 9 oz packages, so I use 1 bag + 1/3 of another.

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