Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

If you have kids in the house, you likely know what popcorn balls are. Soft, gooey and delicious popcorn balls are a fun way to create a festive dessert perfect for any occasion. They're a great recipe to brighten up your kid's lunch box or the ideal opportunity to invite the little ones in the kitchen to work with food themselves. A crunchy and sticky treat to make popcorn balls, popcorn is combined with other ingredients and formed into bite-size rounds enjoyed as a snack or dessert. This snack can be kept around the house or wrapped up in cellophane and handed out to neighbors for the perfect holiday treat. A fun and unique gift to give out, your friends and family will love receiving this tasty snack. Ready to make a batch yourself? Continue scrolling as we provide step-by-step instructions for our favorite Marshmallow Popcorn Ball recipe.

Can Popcorn Balls Be Made Ahead of Time?

Sweet Homemade Popcorn Balls Ready to Eat Popcorn balls are a snack that can be enjoyed anywhere, and because of that, they're the perfect on-the-go treat. Making this recipe ahead of time can cut down on some of the stress of meal planning and ensure that your kids always have something tasty to reach for. Prep for the week ahead by making these popcorn balls and storing them tightly in plastic wrap for up to five days. Just make sure you keep them high enough up so that the kids can't reach them.

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls Recipe

Making marshmallow popcorn balls is easy and only requires a few ingredients, many of which you likely have in your pantry. Ready to try making popcorn balls at home? Start with the recipe below. Ingredients
  • 12 cups pre-popped Bob's Red Mill Yellow Corn Popcorn
  • 5 cups Mini Marshmallows
  • 3/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
  • 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
  • 2 tsp Water
  • 2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
Though the ingredients above make tasty popcorn balls, this snack is entirely customizable. Food coloring, sprinkles and other treats can be added to these popcorn balls to decorate them for any occasion. They're a fun way to get the kids involved in the kitchen and a snack that's loved by all ages. Directions
  1. Line the countertop with parchment paper.
  2. Combine 4 cups marshmallows and popcorn in an extra-large bowl.
  3. Heat corn syrup, butter, water, powdered sugar and 1 cup marshmallows in a pot over medium-high heat.
  4. Stir until mixture comes to a boil.
  5. Remove mixture from heat and add vanilla and salt.
  6. Pour warm mixture over popcorn and marshmallow mixture.
  7. Stir until popcorn kernels are evenly coated.
  8. Allow popcorn to cool slightly, then begin to shape it into ay
  9. Wrap in cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Fun Mix-Ins to Add to Popcorn Balls

popcorn balls with candy corns As we mentioned earlier, popcorn balls are entirely customizable, which means that you can mix in and add whatever you'd like to this recipe. To create festive and flavorful popcorn balls, try adding in some of the suggested ingredients below.

Sprinkles

Sprinkles are an easy and clever way to turn regular marshmallow popcorn balls into festive ones. Sprinkles come in all shapes, colors and sizes and can be added when mixing the ingredients of a popcorn ball or sprinkled on top once they're formed. And while they may add a touch of sweetness to this snack, they won't change the recipe's flavor.

Food Coloring

If you're creating these marshmallow balls for a themed event, think of what color works best with the theme, and then dye this snack that color. By adding food coloring to the heated syrup mixture, you can ensure that your popcorn balls are coated in the color of your choice.

Candy

Care to make this sweet treat even sweeter? Adding candy like M&M's, Nerds, and bits of caramel to your marshmallow popcorn balls will boost the flavor of this recipe, taking it from a fun snack to a satisfying dessert.

Colored Marshmallows

Food coloring isn't the only way to add color to this recipe. While this recipe calls for traditional marshmallows, these popcorn balls can also be made with colored marshmallows. Because many colored marshmallows are flavored they will add a unique taste to these popcorn balls that is hard to replicate.

Chocolate Chips

Add a rich flavor to these marshmallow popcorn balls by adding mini chocolate chips to the ingredients list. When mixed with the other warm ingredients, the chocolate chips will soften, creating a melt-in-your-mouth texture that's undeniably good. Crumbled graham crackers or bits of honey graham cereal can also be worked in to replicate the flavor of your favorite bonfire dessertS'mores!

Tips for Making Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

Woman's hands making popcorn balls Though making marshmallow popcorn balls is simple, there are a few tips and tricks that you can follow to make sure this recipe goes off without a hitch. Create popcorn balls like the pros, and follow the directions below.

Apply Butter to Your Hands

While some popcorn ball recipes may call for butter as an ingredient, we also recommend adding it to your hands. Buttering your hands before you roll the popcorn mixture into balls will ensure the ingredients stay together and off of your hands. Without anything keeping the mixture from sticking to your hands, the popcorn balls will be tough to shape.

Work With a Team

We mentioned that this is a fun recipe to get the kids involved, and it's true! Not only will inviting the kids to help out lead to more fun in the kitchen, but it will also help make this recipe a success. When working with the sticky marshmallow mixture, you'll have a limited amount of time to shape the popcorn into balls. If you don't work quickly, the sticky glue that holds the balls together will start to solidify, making these balls harder to shape as they cool. To shape these balls quickly, give everyone helping out a designated tasksomething that will get the ball rolling, literally!

Avoid Working with Hot Ingredients

As much as a cooled popcorn mixture can cause problems, one that's too hot can be just as tricky. So when making these marshmallow popcorn balls, make sure you let the popcorn mixture cool for a few minutes before you begin shaping to avoid burning yourself.

Act Gently

While you'll want to be quick when shaping the popcorn balls, you'll also want to be gentle. Packing the ingredients together too tightly will result in a popcorn ball that is too tough to eat. Instead, when shaping this snack, press down on the popcorn ball just enough to create the shape you want while still producing a light and fluffy snack.

Additional Dessert Recipes with Popcorn

Maple Granola Popcorn Balls Popcorn is known for being a buttery, movie theater snack, but there's so much more to it than that. If you're looking for more ways to sweeten up the popcorn in your pantry other than making homemade caramel popcorn or Chicago style popcorn, we're here to help. We've rounded up a few of our favorite dessert popcorn recipes to help you create a snack that everyone in the family will enjoy.

Marshmallow Monster Popcorn Treats

Whether you are preparing for a little one's birthday party or planning for fall, these spooky Marshmallow Monster Popcorn Treats are easy to make and a decorative recipe that will spice up any dessert table. Made with marshmallows, Bob's Red Mill Yellow Popcorn, and assorted candy, eaters of all ages will love them. A fun way to put popcorn to use, get creative when decorating these treats, and invite the kiddos to help out.

Maple Granola Popcorn Balls

Granola and popcorn are two snacks that go hand in hand. In fact, they taste so good together we decided to mix them to create these Maple Granola Popcorn Balls. In this recipe, a combination of maple syrup and our Maple Sea Salt Homestyle Granola yields a balance of sweet and salty flavors that is truly irresistible. Make these popcorn balls the next time you're craving something sweet and want a snack that you can bring on the go. If you want another recipe that blends sweet and salty flavors, try making truffle popcorn as well.

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

All of the flavors of your favorite breakfast treat can now be turned into a delicious popcorn recipe. Simple to make and absolutely delicious, this Cinnamon Bun Popcorn is the perfect sweet treat to snack on after dinner. A fun way to curb your cravings, both children and adults will enjoy munching on this popcorn recipe. Ready to make some Marshmallow Popcorn Balls of your own? Follow the recipe above to ensure that this dessert turns out delicious. We are certain that after making these popcorn balls once, you won't want to stop. From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, we wish you all the baking success! Do you enjoy making popcorn balls and have a recipe that you'd like us to try out? Share your favorite popcorn ball recipes with us in the comments below.
Bob's Red Mill
March 30 2022

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