Caramel Popcorn Balls

Corn as a foodstuff dates back thousands of years, but the history of the popcorn ball is a little harder to verify. One fanciful story traces the origin story of popcorn balls to a perfect storm involving a hot Nebraska cornfield, a rain-soaked sticky sorghum field, and a tornado. What we do know for sure is that a recipe for Pop Corn Balls appeared in E.F. Haskell’s “Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia” in 1861.

This recipe for popcorn balls is easy to make for a delicious sweet treat. Kids Love them!

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 ½ cups unpopped popcorn
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ¼ cup butter
• ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions

1. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into a 4-quart saucepan; heat over high heat. Add 1/2 cup of popping corn; keep pan moving constantly until corn stops popping, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and transfer popped corn into a dish; set aside and keep warm. Repeat until all corn has been popped.
2. Stir sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup, and butter together in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil and simmer until it reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer. Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour caramel over popped corn and stir to coat.
4. Lightly grease your hands and shape popcorn mixture into 15 balls; let cool completely.

Recipe and Image sourced from: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/15856/caramel-popcorn-balls/