{"id":998,"date":"2019-06-29T16:42:28","date_gmt":"2019-06-29T23:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/?p=998"},"modified":"2023-01-09T11:25:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T19:25:59","slug":"popcorn-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/popcorn-balls\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Fashioned, All-American Popcorn Balls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you\u2019ve never had (or heard of) popcorn balls, you\u2019re not\nalone.&nbsp; I\u2019ll be the first to admit that\nthey are far from modern. Growing up in an area that was founded in 1664,\nhistory was a huge part of the culture and popcorn balls were a summer staple. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So what is a popcorn ball?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Imagine sweet, buttery, delicious, sticky kettlecorn smooshed\ninto a candied ball. Sounds amazing, right? They\u2019re easy to make, delicious,\nand fun for the kids to make! <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">They\u2019re also easy to make into a holiday treat with mix-ins\n(marshmallows, m&amp;m\u2019s, candy chunks, and sprinkles all work amazingly well)\nor by adding a little food coloring. We used to have red and blue ones for July\n4<sup>th<\/sup>, and orange for Halloween. Cinnamon can be added for a fun fall\ntreat! <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The most difficult part of this recipe is using the candy\nthermometer. It\u2019s quick, fun and delicious \u2013 so have fun! <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you will need: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Equipment:  <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Large stock pot<\/li><li>Large mixing bowl<\/li><li>Wax paper or parchment paper<\/li><li>Cooking spray<\/li><li>Rubber spatula<\/li><li>Candy thermometer <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ingredients: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u00bd &#8211; \u00be \u00a0c popcorn kernels (can make them stovetop, airpopped, or microwave.\u00a0 You will need about 8-10 cups of popcorn. <\/li><li>1 c sugar<\/li><li>\u00bd \u00a0c water<\/li><li>1 c corn syrup (can also use molasses or maple syrup for a different flavor)<\/li><li>3 tbsp butter<\/li><li>1 \u00bd tsp vanilla extract<\/li><li>\u00bc tsp of salt<\/li><li>Food coloring, if desired. (If using food coloring, use light corn syrup to minimize yellow tint.<\/li><li>Mix-ins, if desired, such as candies, marshmallows, or sprinkles.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Drections:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Pop the popcorn kernels in method of your choice. Pull\nout any unpopped kernels.* Set popcorn aside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*Trick for getting rid of kernels: pour a few cups of\npopcorn in a large bowl.&nbsp; Gently shake\nthe bowl for 30 seconds. Kernels will drop to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop out\npopcorn into another bowl and throw away kernels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Pour sugar, corn syrup, and water into a saucepan. Heat\non medium, stirring occasionally to keep sugar from burning.&nbsp; Heat until approximately 235\u00b0F.&nbsp; Mix in salt, vanilla, butter, and salt and\nremove from heat. Stir well. If adding food coloring, add it at this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Pour syrup over the popcorn, stirring to coat the popcorn\nevenly. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. If adding in marshmallows, add while\npopcorn is still warm. If adding candies, wait until mixture cools somewhat to\nprevent melting. While the popcorn is cooling, set out a few sheets of wax\npaper.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. Spray hands with cooking spray.&nbsp; Shape popcorn into 2-3\u201d balls. Place on\nparchment paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5. Allow popcorn to cool until hardened. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>6. Store in a plastic bag, Tupperware, or with plastic wrap\nto keep fresh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve never had (or heard of) popcorn balls, you\u2019re  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[529,531,533],"class_list":["post-998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-halloween","tag-july-4","tag-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=998"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1807,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions\/1807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.destinationsitters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}