Today I’m excited to be part of the 30 Days of Halloween series hosted by Cupcake Diaries. Alli and I are good friends and I love that she adores Halloween. This series showcases fun food and craft ideas from creative bloggers. Scroll to the bottom of this post to find links to other posts already shared, and check Cupcake Diaries daily throughout September for more Halloween inspiration.
I’m sharing a playful treat called Candy Corn “Corn.” It’s soft, gooey marshmallow-coated popcorn, tinted yellow and orange, layered to resemble candy corn and finished with real candy corn pieces. In short, it’s a festive goodie bag that looks like candy corn. Below the recipe I’ve included a printable tag if you want to use one. Although the colors may suggest citrus flavors, this popcorn tastes like sweet marshmallow and caramelized sugar—not lemon or orange—so don’t be surprised when the flavor doesn’t match the color. If you prefer, you can coat the popcorn with colored candy melts instead of the marshmallow mixture—spread the coated popcorn on parchment to set, then layer the colors. Have fun with it—this is a Halloween treat after all!
Download the Candy Corn “Corn” Printable HERE
Candy Corn “Corn”
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Ingredients
- 3 bags butter flavored popcorn, popped & divided (6 QT popped popcorn)
- 1 bag of kettle corn, popped (2 QT popped popcorn)
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, (2 sticks)
- 1 ⅓ cups (268 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) light corn syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 16 oz (453 g) bag mini marshmallows
- Yellow & Orange Food Coloring/Paste
- Candy Corn
- Pan Spray
- 8 (5×11-inch) Clear Cellophane Bags & Ribbon
Instructions
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Pop the butter-flavored popcorn and divide it between two bowls. Pop the kettle corn and place it in a separate bowl. Remove any un-popped kernels before continuing.
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In a large saucepan combine butter, sugar, and light corn syrup. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not overcook—you want the coating to stay soft and chewy. Remove from heat, add vanilla (it may bubble), then stir in the marshmallows until fully melted.
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Pour just under one-third of the marshmallow mixture into the bowl with the kettle corn and fold until the popcorn is evenly coated.
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Pour half of the remaining mixture into a clean bowl, then divide that portion in two. Tint one portion yellow and the other orange using food coloring or paste (Wilton paste works well).
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Quickly add the colored marshmallow mixtures to the two bowls of butter-flavored popcorn and fold to coat. Let all the colored popcorn cool for 5–10 minutes so it’s easier to shape.
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Grease your hands with pan spray. Place a handful of yellow popcorn into the bottom of a clear cellophane bag, then add a layer of orange popcorn, and finish with a small layer of white (kettle corn) on top—stack the colors to resemble candy corn.
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Lightly press and shape the popcorn inside the bag into a triangle—wide at the yellow base and narrow at the white tip. Press a few pieces of candy corn into the sides of the sticky popcorn, tie the bag with ribbon and attach the Candy Corn “Corn” tag. Repeat with remaining bags. You can fill all bags first and then shape them, if you prefer.
Notes
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