Post by water_moon on Oct 23, 2008 16:47:56 GMT -5
Nothing says halloween like popcorn balls, but since halloween candy isn't home made anymore, the huge batches my grandma made are too much to handle. This smaller recipie includes some a few decorating ideas if you'd like something other than just balls.
8 1/2 c. popped popcorn (about 5 tablespoons unpopped kernals)
2/3 c. light corn syrup
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
coloring or colored icing (optional)
Makes about 12-15.
The popcorn is the star so after you pop it, pick out any unpopped kernals or loose shells. Set aside about 1 cup, you'll probably need all 81/2 cups or so but keeping that last bit out saves you from having thin coverage and lets you add as you need it.
Combine the corn syrup, [food coloring*] sugar and salt in a pot large enough to hold all the popcorn and still have about 2 inches at the top (this leaves room for stiring it all together without a mess). Heat slowly while stirring until the sugar dissolves. When the mixture starts to boil and become sticky see if it'll leave a string when you pull out the spoon. Then drop a small amount into a cup of cold water, the syrup should stay together in a "soft ball" shape. If it disovles you need to heat it a bit longer. But be careful to not over heat/cook the sugar or it'll get hard and you'll end up with candy corn instead. Keep stiring until the syrup is ready.
Turn off the heat and add the popcorn (minus a cup) to the pot and gently (don't crush the popcorn!) toss. Every piece should be evenly coated, add as much popped corn as there is mixture to coat it. Once you turn off the heat you have to work fast to get the treats formed before it cools. (but be careful! it's very warm and can burn if you try to start at the bottom.)
Oil clean hands or use plastic baggies over your hands to keep the mixture from sticking. Shape popcorn into balls 2 to 3 inches across, or a great twist is to use shapped baking cups or large, high wall cookie cutters to form pumpkins, bats, or ghosts. Make sure there aren't too many details and that the treats are at least an inch thick to keep them from falling apart. Let cool and decorate details with icing, candies, or leave plain.
Wrap the treats in plastic wrap or cellophane and seal tightly with a ribbon, raffia, or twisty tie. You can then draw on or embelish the plastic as a decoration if you left the balls plain.
*There are several ways you can color them. Adding the food coloring to the syrup is the easiest way but I've seen some with black and orange popcorn when the pop corn itself has been hit with icing spray coloring. In this case I would recomend letting the popcorn air out a bit so the color can dry and use more orange than black.
8 1/2 c. popped popcorn (about 5 tablespoons unpopped kernals)
2/3 c. light corn syrup
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
coloring or colored icing (optional)
Makes about 12-15.
The popcorn is the star so after you pop it, pick out any unpopped kernals or loose shells. Set aside about 1 cup, you'll probably need all 81/2 cups or so but keeping that last bit out saves you from having thin coverage and lets you add as you need it.
Combine the corn syrup, [food coloring*] sugar and salt in a pot large enough to hold all the popcorn and still have about 2 inches at the top (this leaves room for stiring it all together without a mess). Heat slowly while stirring until the sugar dissolves. When the mixture starts to boil and become sticky see if it'll leave a string when you pull out the spoon. Then drop a small amount into a cup of cold water, the syrup should stay together in a "soft ball" shape. If it disovles you need to heat it a bit longer. But be careful to not over heat/cook the sugar or it'll get hard and you'll end up with candy corn instead. Keep stiring until the syrup is ready.
Turn off the heat and add the popcorn (minus a cup) to the pot and gently (don't crush the popcorn!) toss. Every piece should be evenly coated, add as much popped corn as there is mixture to coat it. Once you turn off the heat you have to work fast to get the treats formed before it cools. (but be careful! it's very warm and can burn if you try to start at the bottom.)
Oil clean hands or use plastic baggies over your hands to keep the mixture from sticking. Shape popcorn into balls 2 to 3 inches across, or a great twist is to use shapped baking cups or large, high wall cookie cutters to form pumpkins, bats, or ghosts. Make sure there aren't too many details and that the treats are at least an inch thick to keep them from falling apart. Let cool and decorate details with icing, candies, or leave plain.
Wrap the treats in plastic wrap or cellophane and seal tightly with a ribbon, raffia, or twisty tie. You can then draw on or embelish the plastic as a decoration if you left the balls plain.
*There are several ways you can color them. Adding the food coloring to the syrup is the easiest way but I've seen some with black and orange popcorn when the pop corn itself has been hit with icing spray coloring. In this case I would recomend letting the popcorn air out a bit so the color can dry and use more orange than black.