Why are my popcorn balls falling apart?

Why are my popcorn balls falling apart? This can happen if the syrup mixture is not cooked to the correct temperature (soft-ball stage) or if the popcorn is not evenly coated . Ensure the syrup reaches 235°F and stir thoroughly when mixing with the popcorn.

Why is my caramel popcorn not crispy?

How Do I Get My Popcorn Crunchy and Not Soggy? The longer you cook the syrup (the mixture of sugar and water the forms the base of the caramel sauce), the crunchier your popcorn will be . For very crunchy popcorn (my favorite!), stop cooking when you see the first wisps of smoke coming from the sugar mixture.

Why won t my popcorn balls stick together?

If the syrup mixture is too hot it won't allow the popcorn to hold together and if it has cooled too much it will make it difficult to mold and form the popcorn into balls. The second issue can also be that there is not enough of a syrup to popcorn and toppings ratio.

Why are my popcorn balls chewy?

A top reason popcorn turns out chewy is because steam gets trapped in your pot when the popcorn kernels are popping . Fix this by using a well-vented lid or leave the pan slightly open to make a light and crispy popcorn.

Why is my homemade caramel popcorn soggy?

Caramel corn will taste soft and chewy right out of the oven. Give it some time to cool. If it's still tasting soggy after 1–2 hours of cooling at room temperature, you may have under-baked the caramel corn . 1 hour in the oven is usually plenty.

Why put egg in caramel popcorn?

While some people said that she added the egg to absorb extra heat , others had different views. "Whole eggs absorb excess heat so it's an easy way to regulate the temperature balance of the other ingredients," a user wrote.

How do you stick popcorn together?

Combine corn syrup, butter, water, confectioners' sugar, and marshmallows in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir until the marshmallows have melted and the mixture comes to a boil. Carefully pour hot marshmallow mixture over popcorn and toss together to coat each kernel evenly.

How do you know if popcorn is too dry?

Dry corn tends to pop partially or not at all . If the corn is too dry, remove the kernels from the ears then add moisture as described below. Wet corn pops slowly with a loud noise, the kernels are small and tough with a “chewy” texture and jagged look. There will also be a lot of steam coming out of the popper.

Can you Repop popcorn seeds that didn't pop?

How to Re-Pop Popcorn Kernels. If you still have unpopped kernels, simply add an additional splash of oil to the pot and cover it . Return the heat to medium-high, and proceed as you would for new kernels. When the popping slows, remove from heat.

Caramel Apple Popcorn Balls Recipe #popcornballer (2024)

Posted on Published: September 27, 2013- Last updated: April 19, 2023

As a Good Cook Kitchen Expert Ireceived Good Cook products to facilitate our delicious Caramel Apple Popcorn Balls recipe. No other compensation wasreceived All opinions are my own.

Other than all the cold weather, I absolutely love Autumn! It is the time of harvesting great food and enjoying amazing flavors! I don’t know why we don’t enjoy popcorn balls more often, but it seems that Autumn is the time that we really start to see popcorn balls show up in the stores. And then that makes me want popcorn balls, so I run home and make popcorn balls. Does that ever happen to you?

Well this last week we had a craving for some delicious autumn themed popcorn balls. I took a few different recipes from a family cookbook. You know those fun cookbooks where everyone shares their favorite recipes and then you bind them and share them with the family? We have a few of those. So honestly I don’t know where the recipes originate.

They had quite a few different recipes for popcorn balls. I really didn’t know which one would be best. So I read through the basic ingredients and mixed and matched about 4 different recipes to create my own. A special thanks goes out to my friend Chris from The Cooking Dish for answering a lot of my questions about cooking sugar techniques and blending ingredients. He was a great help with my creation of the recipe.

The result? One of the most amazing tasting Caramel Apple Popcorn Balls recipe I’ve ever tasted. I seriously could not stop snitching the popcorn balls! And the kids were just as bad. A recipe that good just has to be shared!

Table of Contents hide

1 Caramel Apple Popcorn balls creation

1.1 Popcorn balls tip:

Caramel Apple Popcorn balls creation

First step is to always gather your ingredients and tools. Then start cooking! I’ve added an easy printable recipe at the bottom to make the creation super easy for you. One of the most important steps is to make sure you pop some Jolly Time popcorn in the microwave really quick to pacify the kids! The last thing you want is the kids sneaking in and eating your popcorn for the popcorn balls! So I popped some up and sent the kids to watch a movie so they wouldn’t eat what I needed for the popcorn balls. The first step is to get the apple syrup boiled down. This is super easy to do. It just takes a lot of time. But it is crucial if you want that amazing caramel apple flavoring. Without this step, the Caramel Apple popcorn balls just aren’t the same. You can also use a candy apple extract. But again. We prefer homemade. And the flavor is much more real.

Take your apple cider and place it in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook until the cider is reduced to 1/2 cup. This takes ~ 40 minutes. But you will want to check after 30 minutes. Each time you are checking the apple syrup, be sure to measure with a glass measuring cup. You want to make sure it is boiled down enough so that you get the best flavor.

When it is boiled down enough it will be a little syrupy. That is alright. Like I said, this is the part that takes the longest. Once you have this step complete the rest of the recipe is a breeze!

When your apple sauce is almost ready you can begin popping your popcorn. I popped my popcorn into the 7 qt plastic party bowl and then transferred the popcorn to the stainless steal bowl after to ensure I had removed all the kernels. The last thing you want is to bite into a popcorn ball and hit a kernel. When the Apple syrup is ready, add in the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. Make sure you use a good spatula to get all the goodness from the measuring cups. Bring to a boil over a medium heat. Youdon’t want to take your temperature past medium to begin with, as it’d most likely crystallize the bottom layer(s) of sugar while leaving the top layers unmelted.

Once it is boiling you can reduce the temperature slightly and cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 3 minutes without removing the lid. After 3 minutes remove the lid. Clip a candy thermometer to the inside of the pan and check the temperature. Continue to cook until you reach a soft ball stage (236F to 238F).

I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have a candy thermometer! I used to always have to do this the old fashioned way by dropping some of the mixture into ice water to see the stage. It’s not always fool proof. I highly recommend getting a candy thermometer if you don’t have one. It makes this process a lot easier! Once the soft ball stage is reached, add in the cream of tartar and vanilla. Beware that the vanilla mixing with the cream of tartar in the caramel will bubble a bit. So watch out so you don’t get burned. Once it is all mixed then pour it over your popcorn. Mix well, ensuring you get all the caramel that will collect at the bottom of your bowl. Then mold.

Popcorn balls tip:

Let the caramel apple popcorn cool a bit before forming into a popcorn ball. When it is still hot it will form well, but won’t stay in the shape once you place it on the wax paper. After cooling for about 5-10 minutes, the popcorn will hold it’s formed shape much better. Use the easy Popcorn baller from Good Cook to form the perfect popcorn balls without getting your hands covered in caramel. Then place on a wax paper. For fun add in a candy stick for easy handling while you eat it. And for even more fun add in a Apple Sour Punch bites as the “leaf” of the apple. Now you are ready to dig in! But beware. Once you take a bite you won’t be able to stop! It is that good! If you want to dress them up even more perfect for handing out to friends, neighbors or sharing with kids; use the adorable Ghost story treat bags. Perfect decoration for Halloween! You can find all the tools you need to create these delicious Caramel Apple Popcorn Balls from Good Cook!

7 qt Plastic party bowl
Classic “Non-stick” 2 qt sauce pan
Stainless steel rubber base mixing bowl 5 qt
Spatula w/ clear handle
Candy Thermometer
Popcorn Ballers
Ghost story Treat bags

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