Homemade Halloween Treats

The Newsy Neighbour
October Issue 108
by Kathryn Harwell

In the good old days many, many years ago when we used to go “Trick or Treating”, many of the treats we received were actually homemade – like I said, the “good old days”. We would get homemade popcorn balls and I remember helping mom make them every single year. We would make at least 150 of them – can you believe that? They were the most popular Halloween treat in the whole neighbourhood and all of the kids used to take them to school for the Halloween party. Boy, you will never see those days again!

But you can still make homemade Halloween treats just to share with your friends and family. This gives you just another excuse to eat a few yourself since you only make these once a year, right? That’s my way of looking at it, anyhow! So I am going to share, first and foremost, my mother’s original popcorn ball recipe. It really is quite easy, just a little time consuming.

MOTHER’S ORIGINAL POPCORN BALL RECIPE

7 quarts popped popcorn

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place popcorn in a large baking pan; mom would use her gigantic roaster. In a thick heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 235° (soft-ball stage).

Remove from the heat. Add the butter, vanilla and stir until butter is melted. Immediately pour over popcorn and stir until evenly coated. When mixture is cool enough to handle, quickly shape into 3-in. balls, dipping hands in cold water to prevent sticking. This will make about 20 balls. Your hands will get red and your arms will get sore but when you take that first bite of your own homemade popcorn balls, you might not want to wait until Halloween every year to make these – they are incredibly delicious.

Now our neighbour down the street, not to be outdone, used to make her famous “Caramel Covered Apples,” which were not quite as good for you as the popcorn balls, hehe! But some found them almost as delectable.

CARAMEL COVERED APPLES

12 crisp apples                                    1⅓ cup dark corn syrup

1⅓ cup granulated sugar                    1⅓ cup light brown sugar

1⅓ cup heavy cream                           ¼ tsp salt

3 tbsp butter                                       ¾ tsp vanilla extract

Line a baking pan with a generously oiled sheet of parchment paper. Push a candy apple stick into the core of each apple. Combine the syrup, sugars, heavy cream, and salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer until the mixture reaches 270°F – about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the butter and vanilla. Let cool for 6 to 8 minutes, until caramel thickens to a toffee-like consistency. Dip and gently swirl the apples into the caramel and place on the prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely.

Enjoy your Halloween and be safe out there!!

Kathryn Hartwell