Print
decorated halloween popcorn balls in bowl

Halloween Popcorn Balls

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 18 popcorn balls 1x

These Halloween Popcorn Balls are so fun and festive! Homemade popcorn balls decorated for Halloween with fun sprinkles, M&M’s and candy corn!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 8 ounce bag air popped popcorn
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 20 drops orange food coloring
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows
  • 210 ounce packages dark or milk chocolate melting wafers
  • Halloween decorations, sprinkles, chocolate candies, candy corn (see post for decoration ideas!)

Instructions

  1. Pour the popcorn into a very large pot or a large, 21″ x 15″ sheet pan. If you don’t have a pot or sheet pan large enough, split the popcorn between two baking sheets, or 2 large pots.
  2. Pour the corn syrup into a medium size pot over medium heat. Add the butter and vanilla extract and whisk until melted. Pour the confectioner’s sugar into the pot, 1 cup at a time, whisking after each addition. Pour in the marshmallows and whisk until melted. Add the orange food coloring (or any color that you like) to the pot and whisk to combine.
  3. Pour the syrup over the popped popcorn. Wait a minute for the syrup to cool slightly, then use a large spoon and your hand (or two large spoons, our hands are used to heat!) to toss the popcorn and coat it in the syrup.
  4. Spray your hands with non-stick cooking spray, then grab a baseball sized amount of popcorn and squeeze while forming into a ball. Place the popcorn ball onto a baking sheet and then repeat with the rest of the popcorn until you have about 18 popcorn balls. As the popcorn balls cool, they’ll start to fall apart a little, so go back several times and squeeze them into a ball again before they cool completely. The popcorn balls should cool down and hold their shape after about an hour.
  5. Gather the Halloween decorations and place them into shallow bowls that are big enough to dip the popcorn balls into.
  6. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals, stirring in between, until melted. Alternately, you can use a double boiler to melt the chocolate, or a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Dip one half of the popcorn ball into the chocolate and then into desired candy coating. When using larger pieces of candy like candy corn or M&M’s, place the candy pieces onto the chocolate by hand.
  7. Let the decorated popcorn balls dry, chocolate side up until set. Store the popcorn balls in an air tight container or wrap in cellophane treat bags for handing out to trick-or-treaters or at parties.

Recipe Notes

Store: Store the popcorn balls in an air tight container or wrap in cellophane treat bags for handing out to trick-or-treaters or at parties. Popcorn balls can be made up to 3 days in advance.

  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American