Lantern Cracker Jack

Ingredients

• 8 cups freshly popped popcorn (from about 1/3 cup raw kernels)
• 2 cups plain puffed rice
• 2 cups roasted, salted peanuts
• ⅓ cup raw corn kernels
• ¼ cup black sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder (recipe follows)
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda, sifted
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
• ⅓ cup sorghum (see note)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

    713 calories; 45 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 38 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 40 milligrams cholesterol; 460 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Serves 6

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the popcorn, rice and peanuts evenly on the sheet pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, five-spice powder and baking soda and set aside.
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, sorghum and salt and stir to dissolve. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook until the syrup reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract and sesame-seed mixture. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon to combine.
3. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the popcorn and nuts.
4. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes to coat evenly. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

1 hour 20 minutes