Candy Coated Popcorn Recipe: Popcorn Balls

Even if they look difficult, candy corn popcorn balls really aren’t. All you need to do to make these is make a quick sugar syrup, and pour it over some popcorn. Then just mix it with some candy corn, and shape them into balls. This will take about 25 minutes in total, and the end result is a great portable snack! These have a fun look to them, and a taste that is similar to caramel corn, but with a hint of sweetness from the candy corn. You may be surprised to find out just how well these stay together!

You’ll need to be quick when pouring syrup on the popcorn so you need to prepare everything in advance. Use butter on your hands before the process begins, and make sure you’re following the instructions, it will help a ton.

What Makes This Treat So Good

• The sugar syrup cooks to the soft-crack stage (270°F), which gives you popcorn balls that hold their shape without being jaw-breakingly hard.
• Cream of tartar prevents the sugar from crystallizing as it cooks — skip it and you risk a grainy, sandy syrup.
• Baking soda stirred in off the heat creates tiny bubbles that make the coating a little lighter and easier to work with.
• Adding candy corn after the syrup (not during) means the pieces stay visible and don’t completely melt into the coating.
• Buttered hands and buttered wax paper are the difference between popcorn balls and a sticky disaster — don’t skip either.

What to Know Before You Start

Here are a few things before you start:

A candy thermometer is a must have. You won’t be able to estimate the temperature of the sugar syrup. Soft crack stage is 270°F. Below that your balls will not hold, above that, you’re going toward hard candy territory. A basic candy thermometer does this perfectly and is under $10.

You’ll want to get your popcorn popped *before* you put any syrup on the stove. This is because once the syrup is heated up, you have to pour it on the popcorn immediately, which doesn’t leave you time to pop the popcorn afterwards. There are no pause times.

To combine 12 cups of popcorn with hot syrup, using a large bowl is a must. This will allow enough space to thoroughly mix and coat all of the popcorn, as mixing with a smaller bowl will leave syrup unsatisfactorily pooling at the bottom.

Be sure to account for the cooling time of the popcorn. After you mix the popcorn and syrup, you have to let it cool for 60 to 90 seconds before shaping it. Also, make sure to be aware of the temperature of the popcorn. If it is too hot, it could cause burns. On the other end of the spectrum, if it is too cold, it will crack instead of sticking.

Eliminate any remaining unpopped kernels. Shake the bowl, allowing the kernels to settle at the bottom, and remove them prior to shaping into balls. Biting into an unpopped kernel is very annoying.

Ingredients

Seven ingredients that are easy to get:

• 1 cup sugar — Plain white granulated sugar. This is your syrup base.
• ½ cup corn syrup — Light corn syrup. It keeps the sugar from crystallizing and gives the coating that glossy, chewy quality.
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar — A small amount, but it does real work preventing sugar crystallization. Don’t leave it out.
• ½ tablespoon butter — Adds a little richness and helps the syrup coat the popcorn more evenly. Use real butter, not margarine.
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda — Stirred in at the end, off the heat. It reacts with the hot syrup and creates a slight foam that makes the coating a touch lighter.
• 3 quarts popped popcorn (about 12 cups) — That’s roughly what a standard bag of microwave popcorn yields, or about 3 batches from a hot air popper. Use plain or lightly salted — heavily buttered popcorn will compete with the coating.
• ¾ cup candy corn — Folded in after the syrup coats the popcorn. Standard candy corn works well; the pieces stay distinct and add color to the finished balls.

How to Make Candy Corn Popcorn Balls

Before starting, put your popcorn in a large bowl. Grab some buttered wax paper and place it on a baking sheet or on your countertop. Butter your hands (or keep a butter stick handy). Measure the candy corn and have it ready.

Step 1: Cook the Syrup

In another bowl, mix the sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar, and butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. While stirring the mixture constantly, it should go from a cloudy and grainy look to a clear and shiny look. This means the sugar has dissolved sufficiently.

Keep stirring until the thermometer says \u201c270 degrees.\u201d Because every stove is different, this could take anywhere from 10\u201415 minutes. Be patient and do not increase the heat to speed up the process. If cooked too quickly and at too high of heat, the sugar syrup could scorch and seize up.

Step 2: Add the Baking Soda and Pour

Once you see that the syrup hits the temperature of 270°F, remove the pan from the burner. After that, you’ll want to add the baking soda. Foam may form, but don’t panic. \n \nStir it up really well, and then pour it into the large bowl of popcorn.

You should attempt to uniformly cover the popcorn as you use your spatula or wooden spoon. Be somewhat quick; the syrup begins to become solid after a few minutes.

Step 3: Cool Briefly, Then Add Candy Corn

Let the coated popcorn cool for about 60-90 seconds. This will make it cool enough to be handled, but still warm enough to be pliable. At this point, give the bowl a gentle shake so that the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom, then remove and discard them.

Add the candy corn and gently toss to combine the candy corn with the popcorn. Don’t overmix the popcorn; you only want to incorporate candy corn and not break the popcorn.

Step 4: Shape the Balls

Be sure to coat your hands with lots of butter. Grab a fist-size amount of popcorn and compress it between your hands like so. Use a decent amount of force, as being too light will cause the balls to fall apart after the mixture cools. A good target ball size is 3 inches

Do not touch the balls for at least 15 to 20 minutes until they cool. If you touch them before then they will break, so do not touch them.

If all goes well, and considering how snugly you pack the popcorn balls, you’ll end up with roughly 12 to 15 popcorn balls using this recipe.

Helpful Tips

• If the popcorn mixture stiffens before you finish shaping: Place the bowl in a warm oven (200°F) for 2–3 minutes to soften it back up. It won’t be quite as workable as fresh, but it helps.
• Wet hands vs. buttered hands: Some recipes say wet hands work fine. They don’t — the syrup sticks and you lose coating on your palms. Butter is the right call here.
• Don’t double the recipe unless you have two people shaping simultaneously. By the time you form 15 balls from a single batch the syrup is already stiffening. A double batch will be nearly impossible for one person to finish in time.
• If your syrup crystallizes in the pan (goes grainy and white instead of clear), the most likely culprit is a stray sugar crystal from the side of the pan seeding the batch. Next time, brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush as the syrup heats to prevent this.
• For cleaner-looking balls: Press the candy corn pieces into the outside of each ball as you shape it, rather than just mixing them in. You get better color visibility and a more intentional look.
• Plastic wrap for gifting: Wrap each cooled ball individually in plastic wrap and twist the ends. They hold their shape, don’t stick to each other, and look neat in a basket or on a tray.

Variations

After you create this the first time, the basic principals – sugar syrup + popcorn + mix-ins – become even more flexible.

• M&Ms instead of candy corn: Use mini M&Ms and fold them in the same way. Mini work better than regular size — they don’t weigh down the balls as much.
• Sprinkles for color: Fold in a tablespoon or two of sprinkles right before shaping. Works well for birthday or holiday themes where you want color without the candy corn flavor.
• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the syrup after you pull it from the heat (before the baking soda). It rounds out the sweetness a little.
• Peanuts or cashews: Toss ½ cup in with the popcorn before pouring the syrup for a sweet-and-salty crunch ball. Works particularly well if you’re serving adults.

What You’ll Need

Some things that make this recipe easier are:

• Candy thermometer — Non-negotiable for getting the syrup to the right stage. This Taylor glass thermometer is inexpensive and works well.
• Hot air popcorn popper — If you’re popping your own, a hot air popper gives you plain popcorn without any added oil or butter that could interfere with the coating.

Storage and Make-Ahead

**Storage Instructions:** Each popcorn ball should be individually wrapped in plastic and sealed in an airtight container. At room temperature, they will stay fresh for 3-4 days. After that time, the popcorn will start to lose its crunch and the coating will get sticky.

Keep it at room temperature in a sealed container to maintain the desired texture.

Can these be made ahead of time? Yes! You can do it up to 2 days ahead of time. To do this, you can form the cookies, allow them to cool completely, then wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and place them in a container. They say the cookies retain their shape and taste the same on day 2 as they do on day 1!

Do not freeze the popcorn. Frozen popcorn loses its crunch and its texture softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my popcorn balls fall apart?

The syrup might have cooled too much or not have gotten hot enough to reach 270°F when you made your popcorn balls. At 270°F, the syrup reaches the soft crack stage which means the syrup is hot enough to bind the popcorn as it cools. If you pour the syrup at too low of a temperature the coating will stay sticky and will not set hard. Make sure to use a thermometer and shape the popcorn as soon as you start.

Can I use microwave popcorn?

Yes, but only for certain kinds of popcorn, such as plain or lightly salted (avoid butter-flavored). Microwave popcorn with extra butter might make it so the syrup won’t stick. To get the best results, go with plain air-popped popcorn, but plain microwave popcorn should work too.

My candy corn melted into the popcorn. What happened?

When you mixed it, the popcorn was still too warm. Before you fold in the candy corn, you have to wait for the syrup popcorn to cool for a full minute. If you add candy corn to popcorn that’s too hot, the pieces will begin to melt, and they’ll lose their shape. They’ll still taste the same, but they won’t look as different.

Do I have to use candy corn, or can I substitute something else?

You can use any small candy that can handle mild heat and a quick warm coating exposure. For example, mini M&Ms, Reese’s pieces, and small gummy candies. Make sure to keep in mind that gummies may stick together after a while. The best choices are candy corn and M&Ms because they are more resilient than other candies.

Can kids help make these?

Yes, but they will skip the syrup cooking stage. A parent-only zone will be any place where there will be a sugar syrup at 270°F. That will cause burns on contact. Once the syrup has been poured over the popcorn, and after the mixture cools enough to handle (and your hands are buttered up) the kids can certainly help to shape the balls. It’s really enjoyable and the end result is very forgiving. Balls that are not perfectly round will still taste great.

Why does my syrup look grainy or cloudy?

This is called sugar crystallization. It happens when one sugar crystal triggers the formation of more sugar crystals. This can happen when a crystal from the edges of the pan falls into the syrup, or it can happen if you stir too vigorously. In this recipe, cream of tartar helps deter this, but if it happens you may want to start over. Granulated syrup will coat the popcorn unevenly, resulting in poor texture in the finished balls. In the future you can try to brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush while the syrup is cooking to help avoid this.

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