Caramel Corn

Conversation with Esme yesterday:
Esme: I want to be a mailman when I grow up.
Me: You do? Why do you want to be a mailman?
Esme: No, not a mailman. An ice cream man.
Me: Oh, that does sound better, doesn't it? Then you can eat ice cream all day.
Esme: No, not an ice cream man. A gingerbread man!
Hee hee!
It's my turn to bring treats to class tonight, so Esme and I are going to make caramel corn. This stuff is made with puff corn, and it's even better than normal popcorn. Puff corn is that stuff that looks like Styrofoam peanuts; you should be able to find it in the potato chip aisle. It doesn't have any seeds or hulls or anything and it melts in your mouth like salty cotton candy. It's awesome, and this recipe makes it even awesomer. Here it is:
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 bags puff corn
1 jar roasted peanuts (I haven't tried adding these before, but I thought it sounded a little more sophisticated than just plain puff corn)
Instructions:
Put the butter, sugar, and syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add baking soda and stir until foamy. Pour over puff corn and peanuts (I put it all in a big roasting pan). Stir. Bake in 250 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Pour onto wax paper to cool. Break into chunks and store in Ziploc bags. If you make it to the storage phase, which you might not.