Valentine’s Day Candied Popcorn

My children have definitely inherited their sweet tooth from their Momma. They are always asking for dessert after every meal, including breakfast. If I let them, they would plow through a box of cookies in no time. And when there isn’t any cookies left, they start asking for brownies and ice cream.

I try to change up their sweet treats and I am always looking for new things to try. A few years ago, I made Green Candied Popcorn for St. Patrick’s Day and the kids loved it.

This was it! I knew I needed to make this sweet treat again,

I whipped up a batch and instead of making it green this time I decided to do red. Really, the possibilities are endless!

That’s when it hit me! This is perfect for Valentine’s Day. Being Room Mom for my oldest’s classroom, I know planning a Valentine’s Day classroom party will be right around the corner. Valentine’s Day Candied Popcorn would be the perfect treat! It’s relatively easy {if you can make Krispie Treats, you can handle candied popcorn}. It also makes a large batch!

I also threw in some M&M’s and Candy Hearts to make it a little more festive.

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Valentine's Day Candied Popcorn

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Ingredients

• 2 bags of natural popped corn {skip the Butter Lovers popcorn!}
• 1 1/2 Cups sugar
• 1/2 Cup light corn syrup
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• red food coloring

Instructions

1. In heavy saucepan on medium heat melt butter then add sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt. Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar.
2. Once mixture boils, add in food coloring and stop stirring. Boil for 5 minutes (Do not stir). Mixture should be about 250-260 degrees.
3. Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla and baking soda.
4. Working quickly and while mixture is foamy, pour mixture over popped corn and gently stir to coat popcorn.
5. Place popcorn into a large roaster or rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at 200° F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

This post was originally published at MomItForward.com on January 17, 2014.