Ingredients

Makes 18 cups

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, plus additional to butter
the bowl and pans

1 cup unpopped popcorn

1 cup maple syrup

¾ cup raw sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Butter the two 9 x 13-inch
baking pans and your largest bowl.

2. Pop the corn according to your preference (see page 53)
and transfer the popcorn to the buttered bowl.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the maple
syrup, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and let it cook,
without stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the baking soda and vanilla and stir to
combine. The mixture will foam up and bubble and smoke.

4. Very gently (or your popcorn might deflate!), pour 1 cup
of the sugar mixture over the popped corn and stir until evenly coated. Coat
with more sugar mixture and stir again, repeating until all of the sugar
mixture is coating the popcorn. Divide the popcorn between the two baking pans

5. Bake for 1 hour, stirring the popcorn every 15 minutes.
Cool before serving.