Copycat Cracker Jack Recipe

If you are a fan of Cracker Jack you are going to love having this Copycat Cracker Jack Recipe. My hubby loves his Cracker Jack but for such a little box it can get a bit pricey.  He is has a tendency to eat a bit too much of the yummy popcorn. I love the stuff too but not like he does, ha ha! I have became so addicted to my Oreo Cookie Popcorn so the addiction to popcorn thing in our household is common. Since I have made quite a few other CopyCat Recipes to help save our budget, I needed to tackle the pricey Cracker Jacks problem.

Copycat Cracker Jack Recipe

I knew that making our own homemade Crack Jack Recipe could not be too difficult. Plus I knew that it would be way cheaper than purchasing him those tiny boxes of Cracker Jack for his evening snacks. I know he will probably only miss out on the “Prize Inside” but I will enjoy the savings, ha ha.

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I can completely understand his addiction to Crack Jacks. The Popcorn mixed with the salty peanuts and the sweet caramel is quite yummy and addicting.

The ingredients for this CopyCat Cracker Jack Recipe are so simple. Just grab your Popcorn, Peanuts, Brown Sugar, Vanilla and some baking soda.

INGREDIENTS
10-12 cups of Popped Popcorn (or 3.5 oz bag of Microwave Popcorn)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Corn Syrup
1/2 cup melted Butter
1 tbsp Water
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Salted Peanuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 250.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pop the popcorn.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray add popcorn.
Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and water in a pan.
Simmer over medium-high heat stirring frequently until temperature reaches 250 (firm to hard ball stage).
Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and baking soda.
Pour over the popcorn and use spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn until well coated.
Stir in the peanuts.
Pour the mixture onto prepared baking sheet and spread out.
Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and allow to cool.
Carefully break up and store in an airtight container.

The most difficult part of this Copycat Cracker Jack Popcorn Recipe was keeping my fingers off the yummy stuff. Having the large bowl in front of me was just to tempting, lol.

The hubby normally does not share his Cracker Jack with me or the kiddos. He guards his boxes as if they were a large stash of cash. Since I was making a large bowl, he decided to share. The kiddos were excited to give this Homemade Cracker Jack a try. EVERYONE loved this recipe and we have actually made a few batches since my first time making it.

If you are needing a REAL popcorn popper, we have this Nostalgia Vintage Hot Air Popcorn Maker. It is so fun and great for displaying at a few of the parties we have had. Plus we have had it for a few years and has worked great for making all of our popcorn snacks.

Copycat Cracker-Jack Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 10-12 cups of Popped Popcorn or 3.5 oz bag of Microwave Popcorn
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Corn Syrup
• 1/2 cup melted Butter
• 1 tbsp Water
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 cup Salted Peanuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Pop the popcorn.
4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray add popcorn.
5. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and water in a pan.
6. Simmer over medium-high heat stirring frequently until temperature reaches 250 (firm to hard ball stage).
7. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and baking soda.
8. Pour over the popcorn and use spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn until well coated.
9. Stir in the peanuts.
10. Pour the mixture onto prepared baking sheet and spread out.
11. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool.
13. Carefully break up and store in an airtight container.