Butter Toffee Popcorn

My brother seems to think he's the king of caramel popcorn and while that may be true, in his mind at least, I will arrogantly declare that I am the queen of Butter Toffee Popcorn.  I had previously posted a recipe on this blog for caramel popcorn that, in retrospect, just wasn't up to par.   Then I found this recipe for butter toffee popcorn on Cook's Country and that all changed.  Thus began my self-proclaimed reign as popcorn sovereign.  Long live the queen!

This recipe is fantastic.  The only tweak I made was to substitute cashews for the peanuts.  I wanted to add a little extra decadence but I think using any kind of nut will work just as well.   

A note on the popcorn: I find I get the best results using fresh popped corn, not microwave popcorn.  My favorite way to make homemade popcorn is with the Whirley-Pop.  Just two ingredients, kernels and vegetable oil, and in less than 5 minutes you've got fluffy, crispy popcorn. 

I'm thinking of making this popcorn to give as gifts during the holidays - what a more appropriate accompaniment to my popular cashew toffee.  

Caramel-Peanut Corn

Here's a recipe for caramel-peanut corn I was planning on making during the holidays, to give away as gifts, but unfortunately never got around to.  After making what seemed like tons of cashew toffee the thought of dealing with another pot of bubbling, boiling molten sugar didn't seem so appealing.

But the Super Bowl is tomorrow, which also happens to be my nephew's third birthday, and my brother is hosting a party for his beloved NY Giants.  Me, I'm no football fan, so munching on this caramel corn will keep me occupied while the game is on. 

The recipe is from epicurious.com but I first saw it on Alexis Stewart's blog.  I had a few challenges with getting the caramel to evenly coat the popcorn and peanuts before it started to harden.   Guess I'll just have to worker quicker next time.