These easy Halloween popcorn balls are the perfect treat for any Halloween party or get together. Enjoy them while handing out candy or make them for your family party. This popcorn ball recipe is the perfect mix of sweet and salty, and they're so easy to make- if you like to make rice krispie treats you'll be really familiar with how to put these together!
These aren't just perfect for Halloween but can be customized for any holiday or party. I love a non-candy treat during the spooky season- there can be so much candy that this salty combination is sure to be a hit.
Looking for more Halloween ideas?
- S'more Dip- with Halloween peeps!
- Halloween Cake Pops
- Cardboard Box Plane DIY
- Easy Salted Caramel Sauce
- Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Heavy Whipping Cream
What are popcorn balls?
Popcorn balls are a handheld dessert that's the perfect single serving size. It's a combination of marshmallowy goodness and the saltiness of popcorn.
Ingredients
- 1 bag of microwave popcorn. You could also use air popped popcorn
- 1 cup of unsalted butter
- 1 bag of mini marshmallows
- Food coloring in green and purple
- Black and white icing
- Oreo cookie for the bat wings
- Googley eyes, sprinkles or other decorative items
Directions
- Pop your popcorn. Remove all the kernels. I tried the viral popcorn tik tok trick of turning your bag upside down and shaking loose the kernels and wasn't super impressed. You can spread the popcorn out on a piece of parchment paper or use a cooling tray to sift through the popcorn.
- On low heat, combine your butter and marshmallows in a saucepan or dish on the stove. Stir until combined and gooey.
- Add your popcorn to the butter and marshmallow mixture. stir gently and fold in your popcorn.
- Separate your popcorn mixture into as many bowls as you are planning to make separate 'creatures' for. I separated into 3 bowls- one without any food coloring, one I added food coloring and the third I added purple. I prefer the gel food coloring.
- Grease your hands and scoop out about a cup of the mixture, then form into a ball. Set onto parchment paper.
- Decorate with googley eyes, sprinkles, oreos and black icing.
- If not eating immediately. store in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
Making Your Bat
To make a bat shape, cut an oreo in half. Using a knife wiggle it around a bit on the side of the popcorn ball to create a small gap. Place the oreo 'wing' in the hole so that it stays in place. Repeat on the other side.
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Making a Monster Popcorn Ball
To make a 'monster,' I used green food coloring and black icing. This is my royal icing recipe, for detail work like the smile and scar I added a spoonful of powdered sugar to this recipe to thicken it up.
Making a Mummy
To make a mummy, you don't need to add any food coloring to your popcorn. Add googley eyes and then drape thick icing (buttercream, royal, any type you prefer) with a wide icing tip around the popcorn balls creating the 'wrap'.
Tips
- Put butter on your hands when forming the popcorn balls- this will help it not be as sticky for you!
- If you're using a vibrant food coloring color like the purple for the bats, consider wearing gloves. Or just know that food coloring does transfer to skin and will require some scrubbing to get off.
- I did try a natural food coloring for the green monsters and it worked well- for more vibrant colors though I'd still recommend using traditional food coloring.
- Try other flavors of popcorn and add candies into them to create different flavors and combinations. Popcorn and m&m's is a favorite of mine and works perfect for popcorn balls.
FAQ
Airpopped or microwaved work well.
Gel food coloring works best- it's easy to use and a little goes a long ways. My favorite brand is Americolor.
About one cup is a good size to form a popcorn ball.
These will last for 5-7 days.
📖 Recipe
Halloween Popcorn Balls
Equipment
- 1 oven
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 bag microwave popcorn
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 bag mini marshmallows
- sprinkles, googley eyes
- purple and green food coloring
- 1 tablespoon white frosting royal icing, frosting, or buttercream. Just needs to be thick enough to stick on top of popcorn balls for mummy design.
- 1 oreo, cut in half.
Instructions
- Pop your popcorn. Remove all the kernels.
- On low heat, combine your butter and marshmallows in a saucepan or dish on the stove. Stir until combined and gooey.
- Add your popcorn to the butter and marshmallow mixture. stir gently and fold in your popcorn.
- Separate your popcorn mixture into as many bowls as you are planning to make separate 'creatures' for. I separated into 3 bowls- one without any food coloring, one I added food coloring and the third I added purple. I prefer the gel food coloring.
- Grease your hands and scoop out about a cup of the mixture, then form into a ball. Set onto parchment paper.
- Decorate with googley eyes, sprinkles, oreos and black icing. If not eating immediately. store in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
Claire says
The perfect Halloween treat!