Homemade Cracker Jack with Molasses | Restless Chipotle
Homemade Cracker Jack with Molasses
10 mins prepServes 12
Homemade Cracker Jack: crunchy popcorn, roasted peanuts, and buttery molasses caramel, ready in about an hour. Tastes like childhood, minus the part where you had to share it. Make the whole batch. Hide half. Sharing? Optional.
0 Heat oven to 250°F.
7 Spread popcorn in the bottom of a large roasting pan and scatter the peanuts on top.
1 In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, and salt over medium-high heat.
5 Whisk constantly until smooth and bubbling. Cook 2–3 minutes until thickened and caramel-like.
6 Remove from heat and stir in vanilla (and ground chipotle if you’re using it).
2 Pour hot caramel over the popcorn-peanut mix. Stir well so everything’s coated—dig deep so no peanut gets left behind.
3 Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes so it crisps evenly.
4 Spread onto parchment in a single layer to cool completely. Break into clusters and store in an airtight container… if it lasts that long.
