Halloween Popcorn Balls

I would always make these fun popcorn balls on Halloween when I was young and now have had even more fun making them with my own children. I found a great recipe that includes delicious caramelized honey. Try these mini popcorn balls out for your upcoming Halloween party. It is very easy to make with kids, as well as gets you and the children even more into the Halloween spirit.

Ingredients

• 20 cups air-popped popcorn (from 2/3 to 1 cup kernels)
• 1 1/4 cups butter, cut into chunks, plus more for your hands 
• 1 1/4 cups honey
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Put popcorn in a large roasting pan. Line a large baking sheet with waxed paper.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, use a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to stir together 1 1/4 cups butter, the honey, and salt until butter is melted. Increase heat and boil honey mixture gently 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vanilla.

3. Carefully pour honey mixture over popcorn in roasting pan and stir gently to coat. Bake popcorn, stirring every 5 minutes, until deep golden all over, about 25 minutes.

4. Let popcorn stand 5 minutes, or just until cool enough to handle. Working quickly with lightly buttered hands, press small handfuls of the mixture into 1 1/2-in. balls, occasionally loosening popcorn from bottom of pan with a spatula. If mixture cools too much to be malleable, return it to oven for about 45 seconds to soften.

5. Put popcorn balls on prepared baking sheet and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: Makes 60 to 65 popcorn balls Total: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes

Decrease the popcorn amount if you do not need this many popcorn balls. Enjoy!

You can even make them for the Christmas holidays or your Winter parties by adding crushed candy canes and red and green food coloring or spice drops. They also make great party favors. You can even dip them in caramel, dark chocolate and put them on a stick. Or add some candy corns and put them in festive cupcake liners. Check out the photos to get some more ideas. Happy Halloween!

Darien resident Janine Vairo is the founder of PartyStyle Box. She can be reached at partystylebox@gmail.com.