Chocolate Caramel Popcorn

As the old saying goes, it's the well-meaning thought of caramel corn that counts. (Trust me- it totally goes like that). I swear friends and co-workers- I did not intend to make 8 cups of caramel for the sole purpose of eating it all while getting caught up on American Horror Story.  I promise I meant to share. I'm just weak.

 It was just sitting there. All alone. On the counter of a girl with no will-power and a full Hulu queue. It's a recipe for a delicious disaster.

And don't stress out about making a caramel from scratch.  I promise you can't screw this one up. And you don't even need a candy thermometer.

Chocolate Caramel Corn

Adapted from All Recipes

What You'll Need:
1-3.5oz Bag of Unseasoned Microwave Popcorn
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips/Chunks/Morsels, whatever you have on hand (I had chunks which I roughly chopped to get them into a little bit smaller pieces)

What To Do:
1.  Preheat oven to 250F.  Pop popcorn in your microwave according to the box instructions.  Set aside when done.

2.  In a medium-sized sauce pan, mix together brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt.  Bring to a boil while stirring constantly over medium-high heat.

3.  Allow to boil for 5 minutes without stirring.  Then remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

4.  Liberally spray a shallow baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread popcorn evenly onto pan then pour caramel over popcorn.  Mix with a spoon to coat completely. It may help to also spray the spoon to prevent the caramel from sticking.

5.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven, sprinkle in chocolate and stir to distribute evenly.  Then spread out mixture on a parchment paper covered countertop.  Once cool, break apart and try to share with your friends.  If there's any leftovers, store in an airtight container.