We’ve still been working on our Daily December activities, but I’ve been super busy this past month and haven’t gotten around to posting as much as I had hoped.

Something I have learned during these activities: I do not work well with corn syrup. None of the recipes I make with it turn out as I hope when I plan for them, but I imagine it’s a learning curve, like dough was for me in the beginning too. I’ll just have to keep trying.

I followed the recipe (but added salt and vanilla as the commenters suggested), but the mixture was a gloppy mess. I don’t like gloppy messes. Luckily, I found a way to still make it work.

I spooned the mixture into several silicone candy molds, packing them as tightly as I could. I then placed them in the refrigerator overnight. The next day they popped out nicely into bite size popcorn balls. They were really cute!

The bite size balls tasted really great and the kids gobbled them up! I was happy to avoid a gigantic mess as messes tend to take away from the joy of the experience for me & turn me very Grinchy, and that’s the last thing I want in this season.

I actually really love the bite size ones and think they’d be a great additive to a treat basket gift. It would be really easy to switch them up for each holiday using different themed Sprinkles, drizzled chocolate, or caramel on top.

Ingredients

• 5 Quarts plain popcorn, popped
• 3/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup
• 1/4 Cup Salted Butter
• 2 Teaspoons Cold Water
• 1 Cup Marshmallows
• 2 1/2 Cups + 2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Directions

• Combine all ingredients (except popcorn) in a pan over medium heat. Heat & stir until the marshmallows are melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
• Pour mixture over large bowl of popped popcorn and mix until all is coated evenly.
• Spoon mixture into silicone molds, pressing tightly to pack the mold. (Alternatively, use greased hands to form into balls and wrap with plastic wrap to hold shape.)
• Top with Holiday Sanding Sugar or Sprinkles & refrigerate overnight. Pop out balls when ready to eat or use!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov