Popcorn-Walnut Delight

If you’ve got an hour or so and some basic ingredients, you can stir together this caramel corn from the California Walnut Board. It’s a lightened version of a “Joy of Cooking” recipe, and it’s more foolproof, too: The original requires that sugar, brown sugar and water be boiled without stirring until the mixture reaches 234 degrees.

You don’t need a candy thermometer for the Walnut Board’s recipe, which is baked for an hour in a 250-degree oven. And the difference in calories is striking: 390 per half cup for the original, 150 for this version. The fat drops from 17 grams to 13 grams. Total carbohydrates fall from 54 grams to 9 grams because the new recipe contains only 1/4 cup sugar, compared with 1 1/2 cups in the original.

You can double this recipe; divide the popcorn and walnut mixture evenly onto 2 baking sheets, and carefully drizzle half of the sugar syrup into each one. The finished product will keep up to 10 days, but between New Year’s Eve festivities and New Year’s Day game watching, you probably won’t be able to keep it around for that long.

POPCORN -WALNUT DELIGHT
Yield: 4 cups

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar or cider vinegar
Pinch baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
4 cups popped corn
3/4 cup walnut halves or pieces or a mixture

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Combine butter, oil, sugar, vinegar and baking soda in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until the butter has melted, about 3 minutes. If it starts to bubble, remove from heat and stir until butter melts.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Put the popped corn and the walnuts on the baking sheet and mix them. Drizzle the butter-sugar sauce all over and toss and turn well.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, turn several times. Return to the oven. Repeat the turning process two more times at 15-minute intervals. After the mixture has baked for a total of 1 hour, remove from the oven; turn the mixture several times. Let stand at room temperature until cool. When cool, transfer to plastic bags or containers and store in a cool dry place. The mixture will stay fresh for up to 10 days.
Per 1/2 cup: 150 calories; 13g fat; 2g saturated fat; 5mg cholesterol; 230mg sodium; 9g carbohydrate; 1g fiber; 2g protein.