Spooky DIY: Creeped Out Popcorn Balls!

Contributor post by Janis Nicolay of Pinecone Camp


Hi everyone! Janis here, from Pinecone Camp. I wanted to share a simple, yet affective/creepy, way to wrap up a halloween treat...in this case a popcorn ball.

I have to admit, I'm not one for heaps of Halloween decor, so if I do something it's got to have a creepy spin. I find old dolls endlessly menacing and they have a high creep factor. There is nothing more chilling than the thought of a doll coming to life and wreaking havoc (well, to me anyway!)





I shot a few vintage dolls, then created tags for the popcorn balls. I love the film The Shining, so I took one of my fave lines (spoken by the scary twins), and added my guest's names.

To make the maple popcorn balls:
1/3 cup popping corn (mine worked out to about 7 cups popped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda


Pop your corn however you like, then spread it out on a baking sheet to pick out any unpopped kernels. You really don't want an emergency trip to the dentist ;) Place popcorn in an oiled bowl and set aside. Heat syrup and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat, stirring constantly until temperature reads 225-250f on a candy thermometer. Add baking soda - mixture with foam up. Pour evenly over popped corn, and toss with greased wooden spoons. Let sit until cool enough to shape into balls. Don't let it sit for long though, as it quickly hardens! Place them on a wire rack to cool and harden. I made about 8 popcorn balls out of my batch.


Wrap each popcorn ball in parchment paper, then tie with a piece of black ribbon. Attach tag to ribbon, and you're done! 


Have a happy, and spooky, Halloween! 
janis

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About the author:
An interiors and lifestyle photographer (and closet baker by night), Janis Nicolay hails from Vancouver and adores travel, airports, road trips, camping and mid-century style.  Check out her new recipe cards and beautiful photo's on etsy.

Shop: etsy.com/shop/PineconeCamp

Jan Halvarson

4 comments:

Emmy said...

I have to say that the doll tags CREEP ME OUT! I don't like dolls. Ever seen Talking Tina from the Twilight Zone? yeah. nightmares for years. Great halloween idea. I love it.

Unknown said...

Yummy and creepy all at once! What is it about dolls that make them so scary?

Mandy Behrens said...

LOVE those doll faces!

Unknown said...

Oh those are creepy - when I was in Paris years ago, I remember they had bins and bins of doll heads - I never understood that!