Chocolate Cream Popcorn

2 quarts popped corn

1 c granulated sugar

½ c water

⅓ c corn syrup

¼ t salt

3 T margarine

⅓ c semi sweet chocolate pieces, or 2 squares dipping chocolate, cut small

1 t vanilla

1. Lightly grease a large bowl, place popped corn in it.

2. In pan, mix sugar, water, corn syrup, salt. Cook over moderate heat to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, or soft ball stage. Add margarine. When melted, add chocolate. Cook over low heat, stir often to 250 degrees or hard ball stage.

3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Slowly pour hot syrup over popcorn, stirring corn constantly with 2-tined fork. Continue to stir until corn is coated and syrup loses its gloss. When cool, store in tightly covered containers. 

Makes 2 quarts

---

This week, Deanna, Abi, Daisy and I took on another recipe from Gramma’s collection, a very sweet and tasty chocolate popcorn. Think caramel corn that tastes like a tootsie roll.

Besides the challenge of baking together virtually, we had the chance to put our culinary skills to the test while using candy making techniques, without a candy thermometer.

To start this recipe, you need to cook your sugar mixture on the stove without stirring. We used the cold water method for testing the doneness of our sugar mixture. To do this, you will need a glass of cold water. While the sugar mixture is cooking (for this recipe that includes the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt), you will drop a small amount of it straight into the glass of water to test how well it will harden once it has fully cooled off.

If you test it in the early stages, the mixture will disintegrate immediately in the water. As the mixture approaches the soft ball stage, when you drop some of it in the water, you will be able to pinch it together, but it will stay pliable. At the hard ball stage, you will be able to pinch the sugar mixture together, but it will not be nearly as pliable. 

For us, it took somewhere between 8-10 minutes to get the sugar mixture where we needed it to be. Deanna used a product called Lyle’s golden syrup in place of the corn syrup with great results. 

Once you mix your margarine (we used butter) in and it has melted, add your chocolate as well. Keep stirring, but turn the stove down to low heat. It may take a few minutes to achieve that hard ball stage, but it will be worth it to get the chocolate coating just right. And as you stir in the vanilla, you will notice the alcohol boiling off quickly.

Slowly drizzle that gorgeous chocolate syrup over your prepared popcorn and stir it until it has cooled. We enjoyed eating this (candy!) popcorn as much as we enjoyed making it. All of the kids dropped what they were doing to join in on the snacking.

Irresistible!