Caramel Popcorn Balls

As members of the LDS (Mormon) church, our children learn a really fun song about springtime and blossoms.

It’s called “Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree”.

Here’s a video of Benson singing it. I know, he’s cute, right?

Such a fun song, right?

Except…. Benson doesn’t know what a popcorn ball is. And he wanted to know why they smell so sweet.

Today, our egg told us to “DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE.”

So, we decided we would make some caramel popcorn balls and deliver them to Daddy’s work.

This recipe comes from my mom, and it’s SUPER yummy.

First, you pop about a cup (unpopped) popcorn. I like mine more caramel-y and less popcorn-y, so I only used about 3/4 cups.

And the kids ended up eating quite a bit, so it was REALLY caramel-y.

Before you start, mix your water and baking soda together in a separate bowl. Let it dissolve while you make your caramel sauce.

In a saucepan, bring 1 cube margarine, 2 cups loosely packed brown sugar, and 1/2 cup corn syrup to a boil. Boil for about a minute…. maybe.

The less you boil, the softer your popcorn balls will be. If you like crunchy caramel balls, boil it for another minute or so.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in your Baking Soda mixture.

Pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn.

Sir all the caramel in. It tends to set at the bottom, so make sure you mix it well.

This part is kind of gross, but it’s a good way to have your kids help out!

Spray their hands with cooking spray.

Then let them make their own popcorn balls. The cooking spray will make it so the VERY sticky popcorn doesn’t stick to their fingers. You might also want to spray some on the table too. It wipes right off.

You might want to do this BEFORE bathtime. It gets pretty sticky.

Shape your popcorn into balls.

Stick them into baggies and tie some ribbon around the top.

And there you have it! A popcorn ball that will smell so sweet!

Make sure you make enough to share. My recipe made about 10 softball sized popcorn balls.

Enjoy!!!!

Maybe one of these days I’ll share a recipe that won’t send you straight to the dentist!