Food: Pecan Butter-Crunch Popcorn

I had this popcorn several years ago in a cooking class hosted by a very gifted cook at our church. It was amaaaazzzing. I was looking for a fun and yummy (and easy!) recipe to make for a few gifts and remembered this recipe the other day and made some. And then made some more. And more. ;) This popcorn is so good and is perfect to put in a tin and give as a gift :)

Pecan Butter-Crunch Popcorn - adapted slightly from Mary Kathryn's recipe

25 cups popped popcorn (1 cup of kernels)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1-1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
5 Tbsp. light corn syrup
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1-1/4 tsp. coarse salt (I use sea salt)
3/4 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put popcorn in a large bowl (I used two!). Cook butter, sugar, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a gentle simmer, about four minutes. Stop stirring and continue cooking until mixture lightens in color. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Stir for about 2 minutes.

Pour sugar mixture over popcorn and stir to coat. Sprinkle in the toasted pecans as you are stirring to evenly distribute.

Transfer to rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment paper. I used two large baking sheets.  Pat popcorn mixture down so that it is in a single layer. Bake, stirring every 20 minutes, until almost dry - about 1 hour. Let cool. Break chunks apart and store in an airtight container (if you have any left to store ;)).