Neighborhood Treats

Careful, this stuff is addicting. Our neighborhood exchanges Christmas time treats and I make caramel corn, which is always well received. My addiction began many years ago at the Lloyd Center Karmelkorn Shoppe. While my mom and sister shopped, Dad and I would go to our "secret place"--the Karmelkorn Shoppe--and get the medium-sized box, then watch the ice skaters from the bridge over the ice rink. We would polish off the entire box and get rid of any evidence prior to rejoining the rest of the family. Our secret. Wonderful memories. My next significant experience with caramel corn occurred when I was student teaching at Stephenson Elementary School. One of the teachers brought a huge bowl of homemade caramel corn to the teacher workday/Christmas party, along with a stack of recipe cards because "everyone always asks." Now I could make the stuff myself, which was timely because the Karmelkorn Shoppe at the Lloyd Center was long gone. A quick google search now produces the same recipe (ah, the internet age) and I've discovered that adding a couple handfuls of pecans is the right thing to do.