Ingredients
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups packed brown sugar (I used light brown, but dark brown is more flavorful)
3/4 cup water
12 cups popped popcorn (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup unpopped, but since I used an air popper to pop my corn you may need to adjust this)
1 to 1 1/2 cups roasted nuts (I used peanuts because they are the only ones to which I'm not allergic [coconut is more of a fruit than a nut; it would be inappropriate for this recipe], but if you can eat tree nuts, use your favorite tree nut)
Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan (by 'heavy', I mean a decent weight saucepan, not a dollar-store/99-pence-store/99-cent store piece of tinfoil masquerading as cookware). Add sugar and water; stir until sugar is dissolved over medium heat (I don't know what the gas settings are in English-speaking countries outside North America). Once sugar is dissolved, bring syrup to a boil, then stick a warmed candy thermometer into the syrup (so the thermometer won't crack) and cook WITHOUT STIRRING until syrup is 234 degrees Fahrenheit (about 112 degrees Celsius). If you don't have a candy thermometer, you will have to babysit the syrup for a few minutes and use the water test: take a clean spoon, dip it into the hot syrup, then drop the contents of the spoon into a cup of cold water. Drain the water out of the cup, then gather up the syrup on the bottom of the cup and shape it into a ball. Press the ball in between your index finger and your thumb; if the ball flattens easily when you press it, the syrup is at soft-ball stage. That's the stage you need to be at when you put the syrup over the popcorn; if the ball stays firm, you cooked the syrup too long and you may need to start over again, and if you cannot form a ball at all with the syrup, you need to cook it a little longer. Once you are at the proper temperature, carefully pour the syrup over the popcorn (hot sugar syrup is worse than hot grease, burn-wise). Add nuts and stir until corn is coated and nuts are mixed in. If desired, spread popcorn mixture on a cookie sheet or other flat pan to cool; break into chunks once cooled.
