Caramel Popcorn Balls

I have 4 siblings.  My parents were always on a budget.  They had to be to make ends meet.  That never kept my mother from making treats.  One treat we had often was popcorn.  It's good and cheap.  Every so often, my mom would dress up that buttered popcorn.  My favorite was her honey popcorn recipe.  My grandparents lived in the country and had access to clover honey from neighbor's hives.  I need to share that recipe on the blog soon. 

The first time we participated on the annual charity home tour my girls made caramel popcorn balls to sell. We packaged them individually in small cellphane bags tied with rafia and put them all in a big grapevine basket to display them. Let me tell you, they were a BIG HIT with the crowd.  We sold them all very quickly.  The next year we tripled the amount we made.  One woman bought two popcorn balls, left and came back quickly and bought all of the remaining popcorn balls and asked if there were any more in the house for sale.  These are good I tell you!.  And so easy and quick to make.

It has become tradition to make these at least once during the summer for an occassion or party.  Last weekend we made up a batch, and as usual they were gone in record time.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

1/2 cup of butter (4 Tabs.), melted

2 C. dark brown sugar, packed

1 C. dark Karo syrup

1 can-14 oz. Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed milk

¼ tsp. baking soda

5-6 quarts of popped popcorn (remove unpopped kernels)

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add brown sugar and Karo syrup and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and cook to soft ball stage (soft ball is achieved when the you drizzle the syrup into a bowl of very cold water and you can push the drop into a ball with your finger that holds it's shape but is still pliable).  Test for soft ball in a cup of very cold water.  HINT: this does not take long so don't overcook.  Add the Eagle Brand milk and stir just until blended.  Add the baking soda and stir. Mixture will froth.

Immediately pour over 4 to 5 quarts of popped corn and stir until you have even coverage.

Pour onto a piece of waxed paper or make popcorn balls and wrap in them plastic wrap or small cellophane bags tied with rafia. 

*I dip my hands into cold water and shake them off slightly before forming the balls.  This keeps the popcorn from sticking to my hands and I don't need to use butter to keep them from sticking.  Just run your hands under the water as often as needed while forming the balls.  Cold water also keeps your hands from burning if the caramel is hot.