Sweet & Salty Party Mix

I adapted this recipe from the new fall/winter 2010 Pampered Chef catalog. My only confusion was the size of the package of popcorn, I was a little confused about the size of popcorn bag, I used the mini bag of popcorn that was all I had, I threw away the box so I didn’t know the ounces of the package so after popping I measured out the popcorn and it did come out to 5 cups like the recipe called for. I made this party mix for a party I am having tomorrow night I might need to make another batch, because when Richard gets a hold of this one there won’t be any left for my guest!

Sweet & Salty Party Mix

1 package mini-size (3-3.5 oz) microwave popcorn (about 5 cups)
3 cups miniature pretzel twists
2 cups dry-roasted salted peanuts
2 cups oven-toasted rice cereal squares
1 cup butter (2sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 300⁰F. Prepare popcorn according to package directions. In large mixing bowl, combine popcorn, pretzels, peanuts and cereal; set aside. Combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a medium size saucepan. Cook and stir with spoon over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook without stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; carefully stir in baking soda.
Pour caramel sauce over popcorn mixture; stir until evenly coated. Spoon onto large baking pan; bake 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven.
Transfer popcorn mixture to a large piece of parchment paper. Cool completely, breaking mixture into clusters as it cools. Store mix in an airtight container for up to three days.
Yield: 12 cups
Pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts can be substituted for the peanuts, if desired.