Caramel Popcorn Balls
Popcorn balls were handed to children at Halloween long before shop-bought sweets existed. The whole thing turns on temperature: the caramel goes to 120°C, the point where it is still pliable enough to shape but sets hard in the air. Oil your hands first, or the caramel sticks to your palms instead of the popcorn.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Servings
- 12
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 220 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Corn syrup or honey work in the same quantity. Honey gives a darker caramel and a flavour people either love or do not.
Makes: 12 balls
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Sort the popcorn
Tip the popcorn into a large bowl and pick out every unpopped kernel. Miss one and somebody breaks a tooth, which is not a figure of speech.
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Step 2: Start the caramel
Put the sugar, syrup, butter, vinegar and salt in a heavy pan. Heat over medium, stirring, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
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Step 3: Boil to 120°C
Boil without stirring for 8–10 minutes to 120°C. A drop in cold water should form a soft ball that still bends between your fingers.
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Step 4: Add vanilla
Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla at once. It will foam up — that is normal; stir until it settles.
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Step 5: Coat the popcorn
Pour the caramel down the side of the bowl in a thin stream and fold quickly from the bottom up until everything is coated.
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Step 6: Shape the balls
Oil your hands and press into tennis-ball-sized rounds, squeezing moderately. Work fast: after three minutes the caramel stops cooperating.
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Step 7: Let them set
Stand the balls on parchment for 20 minutes before wrapping.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Warm the popcorn bowl briefly in the oven. In a cold bowl the caramel sets before you have finished folding.
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Variation
Add 100 g of roasted peanuts before pouring the caramel for something very close to classic Cracker Jack.
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Swap
Corn syrup or honey work in the same quantity. Honey gives a darker caramel and a flavour people either love or do not.
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Storage
Wrapped individually, 5 days at room temperature. Never the fridge: moisture makes caramel sticky.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 12 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 220 kcal | 2,640 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g | 24 g |
| Fat | 6 g | 72 g |
| Carbohydrates | 41 g | 492 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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