Homemade Cracker Jack

Homemade Cracker Jack 8 - cups popped popcorn 1 - cup spanish or dry roasted peanuts, optional 3/4 - cup brown sugar 1/4 - cup butter or margarine 3 - tablespoons light corn syrup 1/4 - teaspoon salt 1/4 - teaspoon baking soda 1/2 - teaspoon vanilla extract Pop the popcorn and arrange on a 9 x 18 inch jelly roll pan with the peanuts (if using). Spray the pan with non stick spray or use parchment paper. In a 2 quart sauce pan, combine the brown sugar, butter or margarine, corn syrup and salt over low heat. After the margarine or butter melts, bring the mixture to a boil and cook without stirring for 3 minutes. It should be bubbling during the 3 minutes. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Quickly pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn. You wont get all of the popcorn coated, but don't worry once it's in the oven you can check it every 5 minutes and mix it with a spatula and make sure all the popcorn is coated. Gently mix to coat the popcorn evenly. Bake in a 300 F degrees for about 15 minutes. Using a spatula quickly, remove the caramel corn. It can be a bit of a task scraping it off but just work fast. Break the caramel corn into pieces and serve. This stuff is so good and wont last long , but if you do end up with leftovers, store them in a air tight container, or bag.