February 25, 2011

Jello Popcorn

{printable recipe here}
My friend Lonica's family used to make jello popcorn almost every time we had movie night at her house. I hadn't had it in years but decided on a whim to make it for my little man one weekend. I used strawberry because, well, it's the only flavor of jello I had. Probably because it's the best, really! You can use any color and next time I remember to buy an orange box I'm pretty sure my son will flip out. After I made it I thought, why don't I make this all the time? Well, probably because it's SO healthy- but it's also SO good and definitely worth the splurge. As for the popcorn you start with, be sure to follow Lonica's tip- "The microwave kind doesn't really work, it needs to be plain corn without any butter." If you don't have a popper, though, you can do it on the stove in a big pan.

Lonica's Jello Popcorn
from Anne Strawberry
{printable recipe here}
*notes- I didn't have enough Karo so I took some tips from this recipe from the Kraft website and used a little less and added a bit of butter. You can also bake the popcorn at 350 for 10 minutes after you mix it up if you like it crunchy (but yeah, not so around here!)

2/3 cup popcorn, popped (in an air popper or in a heavy pan on the stove top- see AB's instructions here)- one huge bowl popped
1/2 cup light Karo syrup (Lonica called for twice as much but that's what I had on hand)
1 cup Sugar
1 small box of Jello (any flavor, of course I prefer strawberry)
2 tablespoons Butter (optional- that's my addition but it worked out great)

In a sauce pan over medium heat, combine corn syrup, sugar, and jello. Stir until everything is dissolved and bubbly (a couple of minutes). Stir in the butter, if desired. Pour over the popped corn and stir quickly to combine. Enjoy! Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 if you'd like it crunchy.

14 comments:

  1. I haven't had this in FOREVER! Oh I think i want it, like now.
    Maybe I should eat breakfast 1st... or maybe not :)

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  2. I have never had this, I have some leftover pistachio, this looks so cool!

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  3. a) this looks amazing
    b) I was sad that I didn't get to know you better when we were in the same ward because you seemed awesome (and my brother loved you as a Sunday School teacher) but now we can be blog friends! Yay!

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  4. I'm glad to see that you liked my recipe. Yummm!

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  5. This is the most original popcorn recipe I've ever seen! I cannot WAIT to try this, I'm a bit of a popcorn freak!

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  6. i never knew you could make this at home! wow... i always thought it was some specialty popcorn store thing. i'm sooo excited!
    Buttercreambarbie

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  7. What a very nice idea you have here! I have never thought of using jello with popcorn! I wonder how it tastes.

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  8. This looks so good! I am going to make this soon! Thanks for the recipe!

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  9. Thank you so much for your recipe. I made this tonight with 5 different colors and packaged it like a rainbow mix for my daughters kindergarten class.... She is very excited. Next time I will use wax paper instead of foil to line my pans. It was hard to get all of the popcorn off of the foil.

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  10. Thanks for the recipe! My mom used to make it all the time, but unfortunately I never got the recipe from her. Brings back memories!

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  11. Just wanted to tell you thank you for sharing your recipe! I'm so happy I found you through Pinterest! I made this for my son's preschool class, but I think all the adults enjoyed it just as much! :) AND it was still delicious several days later! (I baked it to make it crunchy - took less than 10 min in convection oven.) Thanks again for sharing!!!!

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  12. Does the hot hello mix make the popcorn soggy when you pour it on?

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  13. Anon1- so glad it was a hit! It's fun how you can make so many different colors (though I always make Strawberry, lets be honest!)

    Anon2- it doesn't make it soggy, just stir stir stir, and put it in the over for a few if you want it extra crunchy!

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