Kahlua, Maple & Bacon Caramel Corn

Maybe your dad is a little more sophisticated than Spicy Pretzels.  And maybe your kitchen help is a little more seasoned than mine as well.  I've mentioned my family's love for bacon that borders on embarrassing so of course Father's Day is kind of a bacon-palooza at our house.  When I developed this recipe, I was thinking of the things that go best with bacon and, well, short of almost everything, maple and coffee are two of my favorite bacon accompaniments.

Grand Slam Caramel Corn
Recipe by Michelle's Dinner Bell
6 qts plain popped popcorn - Use microwave popcorn if you like, just make sure it's the natural-style
1 lb bacon, cooked and chopped
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup Kahlua or strong brewed coffee
1 tbs vanilla

Heat oven to 250 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with wax paper and spread popcorn on them.  Sprinkle chopped bacon on popcorn and set aside.

In large saucepan, combine brown sugar, maple syrup and butter.  Stirring constantly, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, continuing to stir.  Remove from heat and add salt, baking soda, Kahlua and vanilla and mix well.

Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir to coat - a silicone spatula works great for this.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.

This cute can that I packaged the Grand Slam Caramel Corn in came from Michael's.  They have all kinds of shapes and sizes of containers.  I bought some stickers in the scrapbook section and stuck them on the can.  Easy.  I'm sure you can come up with something much cuter.  I'm a one-trick pony kind of girl.  Crafts are not my thing, obviously, but you get the idea, right?

You may also notice that my can is not quite full.  That would be because as quickly as I could scoop this concoction off the wax paper, my son was eating it by the fistful.  He may also have picked half of the bacon out but Bacon Allotment Reduction is one of the many sacrifices a dad must make, especially in this house!