Ali Fitzgerald
Equinox Staff
Popcorn is a healthy whole-grain snack that is pretty low calorie. However, it can be a pretty messy snack! Popcorn balls are a quick and easy way to transform the common cinema snack into an on-the-go treat. Maple popcorn balls are different from the more traditional recipe, but with a basic recipe there are many possibilities for a variety of snacks. The maple syrup and brown rice syrup could be replaced with a hard candy recipe (white sugar, corn syrup and water) if you wanted a less flavorful pallet to be creative with. For instance, try mixing in different treats like pretzels or m&ms with your popcorn.
Ingredients:
Crae Messer / Sports Editor
For Popping Popcorn:
- 2 tablespoons of unpopped kernels (equals about 4 cups of popped corn)
- 3 tablespoons oil of choice
For Maple Coating:
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of brown rice syrup
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Directions:
For Popping Popcorn:
- Add oil into the pot for popping popcorn along with a couple kernels. When these kernels pop you’ll know that the oil is up to temperature.
- Once those start to pop add in the rest of the kernels, cover the pot and shake frequently.
- When there’s no more popping, remove from heat, pour into bowl and set aside.
For Maple Coating:
- Add butter, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and salt into a pot and boil on low for seven minutes. This will insure that once the mixture cools it is hard like a candy.
- Pour the mixture over the popcorn and mix well. Use a spoon because the mixture will still be hot.
- Now form the popcorn balls. It may be easier to use your hands for this, but to help avoid the popcorn from sticking to your hands you can rub a little vegetable oil or coconut oil on your hands first. You can make the popcorn balls as big or small as you want to.
- Now just let sit until cool! They won’t be hard until completely cooled, and if they come out chewy you may not have let the mixture boil long enough.
