Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

‘Tis the season for popcorn. A-Tooch made some quick and delicious popcorn balls in a pre-Christmas cooking rehearsal. Half of the batch was made “lower cal” and the other half was “full cal.”

You’ll need a popcorn brand of your choosing, butter and a bag of miniature marshmallows for sure. All of the other ingredients pictured are optional (but delicious).

Start by melting 2 tbsp. butter or margarine (our lower cal batch) over the stovetop, then add 1/2 the bag of marshmallows (about 5 oz.) and blend until the mallows have melted. While this is going, throw your microwave popcorn in or if you’re using self-pop kernels, get it in the machine/on the stove.

Once the popcorn is finished it’s crucial you sort through anything unpopped and try to get the hard kernels out. Your teeth will thank you later. Use 3/4 of your popped bag and stir into the marshmallow mixture.

On a lightly greased or wax paper baking sheet, form your popcorn balls and allow to sit for 30 minutes minimum. This recipe should make about six decent sized balls. Hah. *Words of wisdom* I’m not sure how the experts make their popcorn balls with sticky marshmallow goo, but I learned the hard way. To avoid having your entire recipe stuck to your hands, dip your hands under the faucet for a second.

These little guys are sort of like fluffier Rice Krispy Treats.

Now you can get creative — I added colored sprinkles to some of the popcorn balls and mixed a tbsp. of peanut butter into the hot marshmallow mixture in another batch. The chocolate drizzle wasn’t the tastiest, but I’m sure a less syrupy approach would have been delicious.

The best part is — these save well. We’ve been eating them at my apartment for the past week! Ho ho ho!