Kids Popcorn Balls

These are the real-deal, old-fashioned popcorn balls your grandparents made for Halloween. Molasses and corn syrup cooked to the hard crack stage create a dark, sticky coating that hardens around popped corn into crunchy, glossy spheres with a rich, almost toffee-like flavor.

Candy thermometer work is the only tricky part. The molasses and corn syrup need to hit 270°F (132°C), which is the hard crack stage. Below that and the balls stay soft and gooey. Above that and the sugar burns, turning bitter fast. Stir in the butter and salt once it hits temperature, then pour over the popcorn and work quickly before it sets.

Buttering your hands before shaping is not optional. The hot sugar mixture is sticky and will burn bare skin. Lightly greased hands let you compress the popcorn into balls without it welding to your fingers. Shape them whatever size you like and set them on wax paper to cool and harden.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a candy thermometer. Guessing at hard crack stage rarely ends well. Clip it to the side of the pan and watch it closely once it passes 250°F (120°C).
• Pop the corn ahead of time and remove all unpopped kernels. Biting into a hard kernel inside a popcorn ball is no fun.
• Work fast once the syrup goes on the popcorn. It starts setting within a couple of minutes and becomes impossible to shape once cool.
• Wrap leftovers in wax paper, not plastic wrap. The molasses coating stays slightly tacky and plastic wrap sticks permanently.

Variations

• Add ½ cup of roasted peanuts or candy corn to the popcorn before pouring the syrup for a trail mix-style popcorn ball.
• Replace molasses with honey for a lighter, milder flavor.
• Drizzle cooled balls with melted chocolate for a chocolate-molasses popcorn treat.