Popcorn Balls - Mary J.

My choices this week included a hand cream that used ammonia and borax, both of which seemed counterintuitive to making your hands feel soft and smooth, so that got immediately thrown out.  I have to admit I was a little bummed, I was excited to make the hand cream.  To make me feel better I made these instead.

Recently, a friend introduced me to a shop here in town that sells candied popcorn in all sorts of flavors.    They were delicious.  When I read this recipe I wondered if it wouldn't taste like the candy sold in the store, and it was a close approximation.  The only difference is they must use less popcorn to candy ratio, since their popcorn is all covered.

I ended up making this twice, once for a Chinese New Year's Party (not Chinese, but yummy!) where I just left the popcorn loose, and then again (because I forgot to take a photo, oh well.), for our church ladies luncheon, where I made it into balls.  It was a hit at both.  I learned a couple things each time, the most important of which was to remove the unpopped kernels.  The recipe didn't mention it and I forgot it was necessary.  Consequently, there was a bit of a "treasure" hunt the first time I made the recipe.  The other thing I realized after doing it the second time, was it would mix a lot better if you had a helper.  One to pour slowly, while the other to stir.  Otherwise, you end up having to "dig" the puddle of candy out of the bottom of the bowl, which ends up taking time that allows the candy to cool and harden and, consequently, you end up breaking a lot of the popcorn.  One fun part of the recipe is that the flavor comes from jello, which leaves several taste options, we did cherry and red raspberry.  The cherry was "Jello" brand and the red raspberry was a store brand and the Jello brand had a lot stronger flavor.  One small issue with the recipe was that it didn't indicate what size of jello, so I used a small box.   It seemed like the right choice.  I don't know that there is enough corn syrup to dissolve a large box.

This was a really great recipe.  A strong 4, I think we will be making this a lot in the future.  It was incredibly fast and easy. The only change I might make, however,  is to reduce the popcorn so you have more flavor, and always use Jello brand.

Popcorn Balls 
1 sm pkg jello
1 C white Karo
1 C sugar
4-6 qts popped popcorn, unpopped kernels removed

Mix well in a med size pot and, on med-high heat, bring to a boil.  Cook on med-low until sugar is dissoved.  Pour over popcorn, slowly, while stirring,  and shape into balls.