Time for…sugar! These popcorn balls are pretty easy, and are sugary/chewy enough that you can make them fairly small and still feel like you had a treat. If you want, you can then decorate them with a bit of candy and a knock-off Thin Mint to make them cute as well!

Ingredients:

• 9 cups plain popped popcorn (if you’re popping your own on the stove, that’s more than 1/3 cup of kernels, less than 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Lightly grease a large bowl. Place the popped popcorn in the greased bowl and set aside. Line a pan with parchment/wax paper/a silpat and set aside.

Combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over high heat.

Stir constantly until the mixture begins to boil, then stop stirring and begin measuring with a candy thermometer, until the mixture reaches 260 degrees F.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Drizzle over the popcorn while stirring, fully coating the popcorn.

Continue stirring the popcorn until it has cooled enough that you can touch it with your bare hands without burning. You can grease your hands if you want (I didn’t find it necessary), then press handfuls of the popcorn mixture into balls. Place the balls onto the prepared pan and let cool completely.

 If you want to turn those balls into sheep, you’ll need:

• Tootsie Rolls
• chocolate chips
• (knockoff) Thin Mints
• mini marshmallows
• candy eyeballs

Press 4 small Tootsie Rolls into the bottom of popcorn ball to form legs. Use melted chocolate as glue to attach a Thin Mint to the top of the popcorn ball as a face. Cut a mini marshmallow in half diagonally to create 2 ears. Glue the ears and candy eyes on using more chocolate. Enjoy!

As put together by some folk in a group I led in Ohio. Yum!

Popcorn Balls

From this youtube video.

• 9 cups plain popped popcorn (if you’re popping your own on the stove, that’s more than 1/3 cup of kernels, less than 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Lightly grease a large bowl. Place the popped popcorn in the greased bowl and set aside. Line a pan with parchment/wax paper/a silpat and set aside.

Combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to boil, then stop stirring and begin measuring with a candy thermometer, until the mixture reaches 260 degrees F. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Drizzle over the popcorn while stirring, fully coating the popcorn. Continue stirring the popcorn until it has cooled enough that you can touch it with your bare hands without burning. You can grease your hands if you want (I didn’t find it necessary), then press handfuls of the popcorn mixture into balls. Place the balls onto the prepared pan and let cool completely.