Time
50 min
Serving
20 persons
Calories
340
My mom made these delicious popcorn balls when I was growing up. While doing my Christmas candy and cookie baking, I came across her recipe. I made the family recipe for the first time this year. My daughters, grown with their own families, asked why I hadn't made these sooner. Thirty plus years later, this recipe will now be a family tradition at Christmas.
Ingredients
- quarts popped popcorn: 8 piece
- evaporated milk: 2 cups
- white sugar: 2 cups
- dark corn syrup (such as Karo®): 1 cup
- margarine: 1 cup
- salt: 0.125 tsp
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
-
Sort through popcorn, discarding unpopped kernels.
-
Combine evaporated milk, sugar, corn syrup, margarine, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; stir constantly until caramel reaches 246 degrees F (119 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes.
-
Pour some popcorn into a very large bowl. Pour in some of the caramel; stir until evenly coated. Add remaining popcorn and caramel in batches, stirring well after each addition.
-
Scoop some of the popcorn mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. Gather and twist the plastic wrap to gently shape into a ball. Place popcorn ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; repeat with remaining mixture. Let cool until set, about 15 minutes.
