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Candied Jello Popcorn

Makes popcorn night even more fun!

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In the decades that it has existed (it debuted in 1897!), Jello has had a hand in so many fun treats. There’s jigglers, there’s “salads,” we’ve even made frosting with it, but I’ve never seen it paired with popcorn! Until now, that is. It turns out you can take jello and popcorn and make something akin to a very fruity and vibrant caramel corn – it’s crunchy and delicious and here’s how you make it.

This recipe uses three different colors of jello and you can use whatever colors you happen to enjoy – you can even tie it to a holiday, say, red and green for Christmas or orange and green for Halloween! (Just keep in mind that the flavors translate too, so if you’re not a fan of a particular flavor, keep that in mind.) You’ll need two to three tablespoons of each colored powder and you’ll put it into three separate bowls. (Sugar free doesn’t work here, sorry.)

On your stovetop you’ll melt together some butter, honey, and sugar and bring it to a boil and then pour that mixture into the three separate bowls. Stir with separate spoons as to not muddy your colors and then add three cups of popped popcorn to each bowl and stir quickly to coat the kernels with the sticky colored mixture.

Then, you’ll spread each color of popcorn out on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven for a half an hour. The colors don’t run too much, so you can get away with sharing a baking sheet if you need to, just keep the colors on separate ends. After it comes out of the oven and cools down, you’ll have popcorn with a sweet candy crunchy and plenty of fruity fun flavor (and color too)!

Yield(s): Yields 9 cups

15m prep time

30m cook time

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Ingredients
  • 9 cups popcorn, popped
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 packages jello in colors of choice
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 250°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine honey and butter. Stir occasionally until melted.
  3. Once melted, add sugar and cook until it reaches a rolling boil.
  4. Remove from heat and pour mixture into three separate large bowls, evenly divided.
  5. Add 2-3 tablespoons of desired jello powder to each bowl and stir to combine.
  6. Add 1/3 of the popped popcorn to each bowl and stir to coat.
  7. Spread popcorn out on baking sheets in an even layer, keeping colors separate, and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
  8. Let cool, then break apart. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from In The Kids Kitchen.