Popcorn Balls: Updating an American Classic

I recently found myself in a popcorn ball frenzy. It was one of the many treats my mom used to make for the snacking pleasure of her five children. My siblings and I were recently reminiscing about our childhood favorite foods. Mom passed away in February 2009 and the thought that we wouldn’t have her around to make our favorite treats was a bit disconcerting.

This blog is named after her signature dessert, ring-a-lings.

The popcorn ball she always made was the classic caramel popcorn ball. They were as big as softballs.

The making of popcorn balls in our family was a group effort. For years, as the youngest, I was not allowed to help because the caramel syrup was too hot for me to handle.

My mom and siblings would pour the caramel syrup onto a cookie sheet of popped corn and with movements that made them look like synchronized swimmers, quickly distribute the caramel and popcorn into softball size balls. Mom would then leave them to harden on waxed paper. Later, she would wrap each ball in plastic wrap.

Popcorn balls are one of those treats that you don’t really read about much anymore except during the fall when cooking or family oriented magazines might feature them as a good Halloween treat for kids.

But according to the Andrew Smith, author of Popped Culture, “Popcorn balls were among the most popular confections in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”

And they appeared in many works of literature during that time including the Little House on the Praire series and My Antonia.

According to Smith, “Although references appeared as early as the 1840s, the first recipe seems not to have been published until 1861 in Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia.”

My older cookbooks like Joy of Cooking and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook offered recipes for popcorn balls but recipes have all but disappeared in our modern cookbooks.

So maybe it is time for a popcorn ball comeback! Given our perilous economic times, popcorn balls can soothe us with feelings of a simpler time and it doesn’t hurt that popcorn is relatively cheap compared to chips and salsa or other pricey snacks. And they have the added benefit of being gluten-free!

But how to jazz up this treat to compete with Chipotle Ranch Doritos or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? And could this snack be made more appealing to adults by offering a more sophisticated taste?

I decided to blend my Indiana sensibilities with a California twist and experiment with different takes on this classic treat.

My mom did leave us her typewritten recipe with her handwritten notes so I used this recipe as my master recipe.

For several week-ends the smell of popcorn permeated my house. My husband and daughter kept sneaking fistfuls of popcorn. My hair (my dog) and every surface in my kitchen were covered with a thin sticky film.

My testers turned up their noses at the combination of peanut butter and chocolate as well as caramel, garlic salt and chile powder (I wonder why…) but they were thumbs up on:

Dark chocolate and espresso

Dark chocolate, chile powder and lime

Dulce de Leche and coconut

I also took a few liberties with the size of these treats making some golf ball size and some into small clusters.

The teenagers and the adults love the novelty of these combinations but I have to admit that the old-fashioned caramel popcorn ball is still the crowd favorite.

Caramel Popcorn Balls: Master Recipe

Adapted from a recipe by Dorothy Hanna

Note: see tips from baking911.com for essential tips on making the syrup.

Makes about 15 softball sized balls

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup dark corn syrup

1 cup water

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 cups popped corn (about 2 ½ quarts which is about 1 cup of unpopped popcorn)

Distribute popped corn in one layer on as many cookie sheets as needed.

Put sugars, corn syrup and water in large saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then cook to hard crack stage (300 degrees on candy thermometer).

Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Stir until melted and combined.

Pour over popped corn and quickly form into balls.

Let stand on waxed or parchment paper until cool.

Dark Chocolate and Espresso Popcorn Balls

Use Master Recipe but add:

2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder
(Hershey Special Dark is a good choice)

1 Tablespoon espresso powder
(I used instant espresso crystals from Medaglia D’Oro)

Add both of these ingredients when you add the butter. Stir until melted and combined.

Pour over popped corn and quickly form into balls.

Optional: After the balls are formed, quickly roll in mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Nestle and Hershey both make mini chocolate chips.

Let stand on waxed or parchment paper until cool.

Dark Chocolate, Chile Powder and Lime Popcorn Balls

Use Master Recipe but add:

1 Tablespoon dark cocoa powder
(Hershey Special Dark is a good choice)

1 teaspoon lime juice (or to taste)

1 teaspoon chile powder (ancho, Mexican or chipotle) or more to taste

Add these ingredients when you add the butter. Stir until melted and combined.

Pour over popped corn and quickly form into balls.

Let stand on waxed or parchment paper until cool.

Dulce de Leche and Coconut Popcorn Balls

On my first attempt I made my own dulce de leche but I couldn’t get the consistency to be sticky enough to form into balls. Best to purchase a jar of dulce de leche which can be found in most grocery stores. It will typically be found with the ice cream supplies like cones and toppings.

1 cup dulce de leche

1 cup brown sugar

¼ light corn syrup

1 cup water

1/3 cup butter

About 1 or 2 cups of shredded, moist coconut

Distribute popped corn in one layer on as many cookie sheets as needed.

Put dulce de leche, sugar, corn syrup and water in large saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then cook to hard crack stage (300 degrees on candy thermometer).

Remove from heat and add butter.

Pour over popped corn and quickly form into balls.

Roll into shredded coconut.

Let stand on waxed or parchment paper until cool.