As the familiar organ music begins, thousands of people rise out of their seats. I stand with them, shoving my pencil into my back pocket and punching my other fist in the air for “one, two, three strikes you’re out!”
After years as a seasoned spectator, I’ve consumed my fair share of peanuts, tossing the broken shells under my seat while scribbling 6-4-3 double plays in my scorecard. But I’ve never munched on their counterpart from the song during a game. That’s right, this baseball fanatic has never eaten cracker jacks.
Ballpark blasphemy!
I had to fix that before the 2013 season started and my friends found out. But I couldn’t buy any from the store—what if they saw me?? So I baked my own instead, and three of us polished them off to destroy the evidence before Dad (our family’s biggest baseball fan) came home from work.
modified from this recipe
These cracker jacks taste even better than the ones out of the box! Add in peanuts for a more authentic taste.
- Preheat the oven to 275°, and lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pour the popcorn into a large bowl.
- In a small pot over low heat, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt. Stir constantly until the butter melts, then let the mixture sit over low heat for 3 minutes without stirring. Mix in the baking soda and vanilla, stirring for 1 more minute.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn, mixing until evenly coated. Pour the popcorn onto the prepared pan, and bake at 275° for 30 minutes, stirring after each 10-minute interval. Cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.
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