Popcorn balls are one of those things that never EVER cross my mind to make or even eat. I have no idea why. Even though I’m not a huge fan of eating fistfulls of popcorn, I absolutely love popcorn when it is slathered in buttery flavored sugar and shaped into a sphere! I also love that they are sweet and salty and will make you totally sick if you eat too many. :)
Plus, these things are friggin cute. Seriously… they are so easy, but you can make them look like you spent hours making them- and because of this, they make the perfect “bring along to someone else’s party” food.
Happy Halloween!!
Caramel Chocolate Popcorn Balls ~ Vegan and Gluten Free
makes about five 4″ round balls
Ingredients:
- 5 1/2 cups popped popcorn, salted to taste (about 1/2 cup unpopped kernels)
- 2 cups vegan sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Directions:
Make sure your popcorn is popped and set aside, ready to go in a large bowl. Also, you will definitely need a candy thermometer and a wooden spoon.
In heavy saucepan, at least 8″ deep, combine sugar, corn syrup, margarine, and apple cider. Over medium heat, bring mixture to boil. Continue to cook over medium heat and stir regularly with wooden spoon until candy thermometer reads 300 °F (or hard crack stage). This takes a while. Patience totally pays off with these.
The thing you most definitely do NOT want to do is get rushed and pull the candy from the stove before it reaches hard crack stage. Your popcorn balls will not be crispy and crunchy- but instead horribly sticky balls with enough tenacity to rip a crown from your tooth.
Remove mixture from heat and quickly stir in vanilla extract and vinegar. Pour HOT candy mixture over popcorn and stir until evenly coated. Let cool for about 5-7 minutes. Carefully handle the popcorn to make sure you don’t burn your hands. Shape them into even balls and set on wire rack to cool completely.
Using double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate until smooth. Place in piping bag with small tip and decorate with chocolate. While chocolate is melted you can also adorn them with sprinkles.
Store in fridge or cool place where chocolate will not melt.
Enjoy!
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These look gorgeous!
Oooh, they look ghoulishious!
are you trying to convert this omnivore to vegan? it is working 1 post at a time. love your food as much as the paics
:) that is a wonderful comment to leave me , Matt. thank you, sir!
GORGEOUSLY DELICIOUS!!
Gorgeous! Loving the halloween theme in your recent posts! :)
OMG these are so pretty! I love popcorn.
Yum! Prettiest popcorn balls ever!
I love making different things with popcorn! This looks awesome!
Those are the most gorgeous popcorn balls I have ever seen. Well done!
Now these look like a far better treat than any packaged candy I’ve ever seen- yum!
Hope you had a Happy Halloween! :)
Oh good lord, I want these!
Nice photo, these look terrific!!
(I have a raging sweet tooth, hehe.)
These look great and I’d like to make a ton of them for a book fair this weekend. Do you know how far in advance they may be made? I’ll put them in bags after they cool. Thanks!
Hi Leslie!
Oh, that sounds fun. They turn pretty candy-like, so i would think they’d be good to go for at least 4 days or so… possibly longer.
Best of luck this weekend!
<3 allyson