Instructions
Step 1: Preheat and Prepare
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius). This low temperature is important — it is hot enough to caramelize the sugar coating slowly and evenly across everything in the pan without burning the popcorn or the nuts, which can happen very quickly at higher temperatures. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. The parchment makes cleanup considerably easier once the caramelized coating has set, because caramelized sugar bonds to bare metal baking sheets in ways that require genuine effort to remove.
Step 2: Combine the Base Ingredients
In a very large mixing bowl — larger than you think you need, because tossing everything together without spilling requires more room than the volume of ingredients suggests — combine the popped popcorn and the mixed nuts. Toss them together briefly to distribute the nuts evenly throughout the popcorn. If any of the popcorn has clumped together, break the clumps apart gently with your hands before adding the coating, so the mixture bakes evenly rather than with dense pockets of stuck-together popcorn in the middle.
