These Halloween popcorn balls, tossed together with a concoction of melted marshmallows and butter, along with candy corn and peanuts, are super fun to make!
Popcorn balls are such an easy treat to make. You could even make
them with kids. Just be sure to make a little extra popcorn for your helpers
for snacking.
You make these popcorn balls just like you would make Rice Krispy treats, but you substitute popcorn for the cereal and adding a little orange food coloring
to the marshmallow butter mixture.
What kind of popcorn should you use for popcorn balls?
I love
making my own popcorn in a pot or a wok. It's a lot easier than you might think, and the kernels are so much bigger.
Of course, you could make microwave popcorn too if you prefer.
For a sweeter popcorn ball, you can also make or purchase kettle corn to make these popcorn balls. If you want to try your hand at homemade kettle corn, just add 1/2 cup of sugar to the pot before popping the corn.
I used freshly popped corn that I made in my carbon steel wok.
It's a great way to "feed" your wok and maintain its nonstick surface.
You can also use a 4 to 6 quart sauce pan for making popcorn. It's much easier than you think!
How to make these popcorn balls:
First, make the popcorn. If you make kettle corn, be sure to stir it after pouring it out of the pan to break up any kernels that are stuck together. It's also a good idea to sift out any unpopped kernels.
Next, melt the butter and marshmallows together in a large pot then and add a few drops of orange food coloring. Once the butter and marshmallows are smooth, mix in the popcorn and stir to coat. Immediately stir in the candy corn and peanuts.
Finally, spray your hands with spray oil and form the popcorn mixture into balls and then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool completely.
Variations:
While I used candy corn and salted peanuts in these popcorn balls, you can vary the candy and nuts that you use in these. I loved the peanuts in these, but salted cashews, pistachios, or pecans would work too.
I've used pretzel sticks and candy coated chocolate to make a smaller, cookie-sized, version... perfect no-bake "cookies."
You can also skip the mix-ins and just sprinkle the formed popcorn balls with different kinds of sprinkles! If you change the food coloring, you can make these popcorn balls for any holiday.
To store these popcorn balls, place them in individual bags or
they will all stick together. You can use sandwich bags or small cellophane
gift bags.
These popcorn balls are such easy and fun treats, and you have so many options to customize them for any holiday.
Take a look more spooky Halloween recipes from our #HalloweenTreatsWeek Bloggers today:
Halloween Cookies & Bars:
- Peanut Butter Spider Cookies from BigBearsWife
- Chocolate Almond Owl Eye Cookies from Savory Moments
- Halloween Sugar Cookies from House of Nash Eats
- Mini Mallowmar Candy Corn Cookies from Sweet ReciPEAS
- Chocolate Chip Spider Cookies from Fresh Coast Eats
- Black Cat Whoopie Pies from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
- Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake from The Flour Handprint
- Flying Purple People Eater Cake Balls from The Spiffy Cookie
- Cream Cheese Brownies with Pumpkin from Back To My Southern Roots
- Pan de Muerto (Day of the dead bread) from Lemon Blossoms
- Eye of Newt Halloween Milkshake from It's Shanaka
- Halloween Marshmallow Pops from Devour Dinner
- Monster Mouths from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Spooky Peanut Butter Balls from Tastes of Homemade
- Spider Web Ice Cream Pie from An Affair from the Heart
- Halloween Fudge from Sweet Beginnings
- The Best Halloween Muddy Buddies Mix from Family Around the Table
- Halloween Treat Popcorn Balls from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Halloween Charcuterie Board from I am a Honey Bee
- Air Fried Bat Wings from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Halloween Popcorn Ball Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 6 tablespoons popcorn kernels
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 7 ounces (by weight) mini marshmallows
- 2 to 3 drops orange food coloring
- 1 cup candy corn
- 1/2 cup salted peanuts
- Spray oil
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a 4 quart sauce pan or 14 inch wok ove medium heat with 2 to 3 corn kernels in the oil and a lid on the pan, slightly ajar.
- When the 2 to 3 kernels pop, add the rest of the corn kernels. Place the lid back on the pan and turn off the heat for 30 seconds. Shake the pan to coat all of the kernels.
- After 30 seconds, turn the heat back on and pop the corn until the popping begins to slow down, about 2 to 3 seconds apart. Turn off the heat and remove the lid. Let the popcorn cool and remove any unpopped kernels.
- In an 8 quart pot, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted. Stir in the food coloring.
- Remove the pot from the heat and pour the popcorn into the mixture. Toss to coat, and then add the candy corn and peanuts and stir gently to combine.
- Spray your hands with spray oil and form the mixture into 3-inch balls. Place the balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet to cool.
Calories
251.62Fat (grams)
12.86Sat. Fat (grams)
3.31Carbs (grams)
34.06Fiber (grams)
1.19Net carbs
32.87Sugar (grams)
27.12Protein (grams)
2.10Sodium (milligrams)
72.60Cholesterol (grams)
10.17Happy Halloween!
Spooky Season is here and it is time for 2020's #HalloweenTreatsWeek event! #HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife & its a creepy and haunting week-long event is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats, recipes and some frightfully fun giveaways.“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween.”
Such a yummy twist on the classic with the peanuts and candy corn! Yum!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI haven't had popcorn balls in forever! I love these and they are such a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had them in forever either Amy. Thanks!
Delete