Today, we are excited to introduce you to the ladies behind the new blog The Granny Girls - Amanda Crew (who you probably saw in our current issue!) and Amber Borycki. It's finally the holiday season...and everything looks just 10 x better. While American stores and hotspots have skipped out on Thanksgiving with their Christmas-Hanukkah-Kwanzaa decorations, we figured we'd celebrate Thanksgiving first with a fun parting gift idea for your dinner guests. The Granny Girls show us how to make caramel popcorn, and how to pack them for friends and family! We had almost too much fun doing this, and thankful for the Los Feliz Lodge for allowing us to take over a whole casita!
Ingredients: 10-12 cups of popped popcorn 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. 2. Pop your popcorn (pick out any unpopped kernels) and divide between two baking sheets. Place in oven to keep popcorn warm (this will allow the caramel to spread more easily). 3. In a medium saucepan, add the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. 4. Over medium heat, melt ingredients together while stirring constantly. 5. As soon as it starts to boil, stop stirring. Set timer & let mixture boil for 5 minutes (DO NOT STIR). It is important that your element is set to medium heat. If it is too high, the sugar will burn and if it is too low the sugar crystals won't completely dissolve. 6. Once the 5 minutes is up, turn the heat off and add your baking soda & vanilla. Mix well. This is the fun part as the baking soda causes the caramel to foam up & increase in volume! 7. Remove your popcorn from the oven, pour it into a giant bowl (make sure there's enough room for mixing) and slowly pour some of the caramel over the top. Mix well (using utensils, as the caramel will be very hot). Continue adding & mixing until all of the caramel is used up. Don't worry if the coating is a bit uneven, we'll be mixing it again later. 8. Split caramel corn between two baking trays and bake in oven for 45 minutes. During baking, remove from oven every 15 minutes or so to stir. This will help to more evenly distribute the caramel. 9. Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!
Can you help but notice Amanda is wearing "hashtag" rings? They're available at Gracie B., and you can use code: ZOOEYMAG for 20% off!
"Caramel corn makes a great holiday gift. We packaged ours in Mason jars topped with some festive fabric and a pretty tag (we bought shipping tags at Staples and stamped them with rubber stamps). You can also add twine, lace or glitter - use your imagination!"
Have fun making these, and if you do...be sure to Instagram @thegrannygirls and @zooeymagazine!
Photographed by Roneil Chavez Styled by Lucia Tran Hair by Richie Roman Makeup by Jeanne San Diego
Brands used: Ruche, Gracie B., Crafts and Love, and Lemon & Line
Psst - Use code 'ZOOEY' for all your jewelry purchases from Crafts & Love for 15% off!