Caramel Popcorn with Roasted Almonds

My boyfriend talked me out of buying a $20 tin of popcorn while at Costco yesterday.  Still wanting some caramel popcorn when I got home, I did a little research on making it myself.  I had no idea it was this easy!  I didn't even have to leave the house for the ingredients.

I roasted the almonds for 8 minutes for 350 degrees before adding it to the bowl of popped popcorn but I don't recommend this step.  The almonds ended up tasting a little bit too toasted compared to the popcorn after baking for an additional 45 minutes.

Caramel Popcorn with Roasted Almonds
slightly adapted from All Recipes
Makes about 10 cups

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 cups popped popcorn
1 cup of raw almonds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C).  Place popcorn and almonds in a very large bowl. 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.  Stop stirring once everything is dissolved.  Let mixture come to a boil.  Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Pour in a thin stream over popcorn and almonds, stirring to coat.

Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 45 hour.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.  Store in an airtight container.