Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, Recipe Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree

Posted the 17/08/2008 04:40:07 By Doña Lupe?s Kitchen (Visit website)

Oh,…I looked out the window and what did I see,

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Spring had brought me such a nice surprise, popcorn popping right before my eyes.

I can take an armful and make a treat, a popcorn ball that would smell so sweet.

It wasn’t really so… but it seemed to be… Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Aiden learned this song in his nursery class at Sunday School during church last week and he?s been humming it ever since. Jasmine wanted to know the words, so I sang it to them this morning and spent most of the morning teaching them the words and finger motions to it. Then all of a sudden Jasmine says, ?Grammy, what?s a popcorn ball?? and I about died. I couldn?t believe I had been so remiss as to not make popcorn balls with the grandkids. Yikes! There was nothing for it, but get out the aprons and head for the kitchen.

I popped popcorn and tried to get shots with the camera while it was popping but didn?t really get good photos. I did however, manage to decorate the just mopped floor and demonstrate to the grandkids why we must never take the lid off as a stray popcorn missile hit me in the arm with its heat.

Once that process was done, we set the popcorn to cool in a baking dish and I went about making syrup, keeping the kids safely outta the kitchen. I decided on a whim to flavor the syrup with cardamom and vanilla and it turned out really well.

Aiden was having a hard time waiting for the syrupy popcorn to cool but he spent the time decorating himself with butter. He was a shiny, greasy bundle of love by the time the popcorn was cool enough to mold. We made a few popcorn balls and that was it, we were done. We ended up with a few balls, lots of gooey caramel corn and two sticky, hyped up grandkids. Now that?s a Saturday!

Cardamom-Vanilla Flavored Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:

A couple of apron-covered kids like these:

Chefs J&A

Freshly popped popcorn, we used two cups un-popped for this recipe

Butter

Syrup (recipe to follow)

Add popcorn to buttered baking dish and set aside till syrup is done.

Cardamom-Vanilla Syrup

6 tbsps.of butter

1 c. corn syrup

3 c. confectioner?s sugar

3 tbsp. water

1 c. marshmallow cream

1 tsp.cardamom

1 tbsp.vanilla

In a saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, water, confectioner?s sugar and heat over a medium flame, stirring slowly but constantly. Once it?s to a boil, add in the marshmallow cream and cardamom. Lower the flame and keep stirring till well-mixed.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Stir.

Slowly pour over the popcorn in the baking dish, mixing gently with a wooden spoon until the popcorn is thoroughly coated.

Add syrup to popcorn and let cool till it?s warm enough to work with your bare hands but not too cool.

Butter your hands so the popcorn doesn?t stick. Mix all the syrup and popcorn well, then shape into balls of whatever size you like. Let cool and wrap in plastic wrap. That?s it!

Well, Jasmine wanted pink sprinkles on hers and I got to thinking about dipping them in chocolate but restrained myself (barely).