*This is a sponsored post on behalf of Orville Redenbacher’s, but we truly love this brand. Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn is ridiculously yummy and we know you’ll love it, too!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard of the amazing Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn!
In our family, we practically live on this stuff, and that’s no word of a lie. Popcorn doesn’t stand a chance in our house – our kids devour it by the enormous bowlful in record time. We love our popcorn, and Orville Redenbacher’s is our fave. Orville Redenbacher’s dedicated his life to growing the perfect popcorn, and it shows! I consider our family to be popcorn connoisseurs – we can tell the difference in taste between different brands, and our go-to brand is always our good buddy, Orville! We can just taste the difference. Good quality ingredients make for a better tasting popcorn, and Orville Redenbacher’s only uses the very best.
Did you know that their third-generation family farmers were hand-selected by Orville himself? They grow only the highest quality, non-GMO, 100% whole grain kernels that pop up lighter and fluffier than ordinary popcorn. To top it off, they’re the only leading popcorn brand who uses real butter.
Their high-quality line of gourmet popping corn includes:
- Buttery Popcorn – From light butter to movie theater butter, they have 8 delicious buttery varieties everyone will love
- Sweet & Savory Popcorn – Satisfy your sweet tooth or cheese fix with Kettle Korn, Caramel, and Cheddar Cheese popcorn
- SmartPop! – Same beloved fresh-popped taste, 94% fat-free and only 15 calories per cup (popped!)
- Naturals – Naturally delicious, with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives
- Skinnygirl Popcorn – Fewer calories, quality ingredients – flavors with a real twist
- Kernel Popcorn– Fire up the stovetop and enjoy non-GMO project verified, Gluten Free & 100% Whole Grain popcorn that pops up lighter & fluffier
In the spirit of celebrating autumn with togetherness and genuine happiness, which is what Orville Redenbacher’s stands for, I wanted to create a fun recipe that was share-able! I came up with a pumpkin spice caramel popcorn ball on a stick – perfect for spreading joy to those we love!
Let’s Get Started!
For this recipe I’m going to share, I honestly could have used almost any of their varieties – the added sweetness from their kettle corn, or the buttery goodness of their movie theater popcorn would be delicious! My personal recommendation would be to use Orville Redenbacher’s Simply Salted microwave popcorn because it will allow the flavors of the pumpkin spice and caramel really shine through!
About 3-4 bags of their delicious Simply Salted microwave popcorn is the easiest to use, and tastes amazing with this recipe. though I suggest erring on the side of popping a little more than needed. You can always add more popcorn into the recipe if you think it needs it, and it’s nice to have it already popped.
Okay, here is what we’ll need:
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter (salted)
- 2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup white corn syrup
- 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 20 cups popped Orville Redenbacher popcorn (this amount will depend on how gooey you want the popcorn – more popcorn = less gooey)
- white chocolate melts for drizzling (about 1/2 cup)
- lollipop stick or popsicle stick to stick on top (opt.)
- Sprinkles (opt.)
Directions:
- Add the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup to a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
2. Over medium-high heat, bring those three ingredients to a boil, stirring regularly.
3. Once it is boiling, slowly pour in the sweetened condensed milk. Use the candy thermometer to start measuring the temperature of the mixture as it boils, stirring almost constantly, until it reaches soft ball stage (235°F). Err on the side of undercooking – if it gets too hard, it’s harder to eat.
4. Once the mixture is nearing the correct temperature, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, and pumpkin spice. Sti well.
5. Pour the hot caramel mixture over the popcorn, mixing gently with a spatula to evenly coat the popcorn. Careful – this is hot stuff!
6. Working fairly quickly, butter your hands and scoop about 1 cup of the popcorn mixture into your hands, forming into a ball. You don’t have to press too tightly – it will stick to itself. This is hot, so be careful. Stick a lollipop stick into the top and let them cool a little.
7. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate melts, 30 seconds at a time, in the microwave until smooth and runny. Using a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn balls, then add sprinkles, if you’d like. I think the gold and white ones look especially lovely on these babies.
And you’re done!
That’s it! You’re done! These made around 20 popcorn balls around the size of a tennis ball.
At least, I’m guessing it was about 20. A few might have gone, ahem, missing in between the making and the packaging of these beauties. I could pretend not to know what happened, but I think the caramel and popcorn in between my teeth would give me away.
The white chocolate and the pumpkin pie spice take these popcorn balls to the next level – seriously, they are so yummy! It’s like tasting autumn in treat-form!
Time to share!
Since this recipe makes a nice big batch, and because I like to make friends by sharing deliciousness whenever I can, I thought it would package these babies up and share the love with some people I love!
A cupcake liner makes the perfect little base to set the pumpkin spice caramel popcorn balls in. Then add a little plastic wrap and a bit of twine and you’ve got a cute little package of yummy waiting to exchange hands.
My daughter was so excited to share this special popcorn treat with a family friend, who seemed just as excited to receive it!
Learn more about Orville Redenbacher’s and why it’s the best-tasting popcorn at www.orville.com , or visit them on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .
Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn is available at retailers nationwide.
- 1/2 cup butter salted
- 2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup white corn syrup
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 20 cups popped popcorn this amt will depend on how gooey you want the popcorn - more popcorn = less gooey
- white chocolate melts for drizzling about 1/2 cup
- lollipop stick or popsicle stick to stick on top
- Sprinkles opt.
- Pop the popcorn, removing any unpopped kernels. Set aside in a large bowl
- In a heavy 6 quart saucepan add the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.
- On medium- high heat, bring these ingredients to a boil. While stirring, slowly add the sweetened condensed milk.
- Insert candy thermometer and let it cook, softly boiling, almost constantly stirring, until mixture reaches soft ball stage (235°F at sea level). Err on the side of undercooking - if it gets too hard, it's harder to eat.
- About 2 degrees before it reaches the correct temperature, add in the salt, vanilla, and pumpkin spice. Stir.
- Pour over the popcorn, carefully, and stir with a silicon spatula until the caramel has covered the popcorn evenly.
- Butter your hands and form caramel popcorn into balls - about the size of a tennis ball (or any size you'd like.) Be careful as this can be hot! Try to work quickly.
- Insert the lollipop sticks and set the balls onto a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
- Melt the chocolate melts and drizzle over the tops of the popcorn balls. Add sprinkles and serve!
Nicolette says
Oh my goodness, these look delectable Bobbi! You make everything look delicious. Trying these popcorn balls with my kiddos this week:).
Mary says
How long does these delicious balls last?