[1] Make mini popcorn balls in your favorite colors (photo © National Popcorn Board).

[2] You can buy bags of popcorn or pop your own (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[3] Popcorn trail mix is easy to make. Here’s the recipe (photo © Delicious Meets Healthy).

[4] You can flavor popcorn with herbs and spices for any occasion. Here, pumpkin pie spices create Pumpkin Spice Popcorn (photo © National Popcorn Association).

[5] Use popcorn as a garnish, like this caramel corn garnish on a carrot cake. Here’s the recipe (photo © Honest Cooking).

January 19th is National Popcorn Day, celebrating an all-American treat. (October is National Popcorn Month.)

Popcorn is an all-American food, born by accident thousands of years ago. The oldest popcorn known to date was discovered in 1948 in a cave in New Mexico.

Here’s the history of popcorn.

We’ve got interesting ways to use popcorn, below.

For today, here’s a fun recipe from the National Popcorn Board. They call it Pop-a-rif-ic Popcorn Balls.

You can leave them their natural beige color, but there’s more eye appeal with a bit of food color (photo #1).

For the rest of the year, you can use the same recipe with theme food colors to make the popcorn balls for specific holidays and sports teams.

Make a batch for movie night, game-watching or for general snacking.

Note that while this recipe is not a low-calorie snack like plain popcorn, it is a whole-grain snack.
 
 
RECIPE: POPCORN CANDY BALLS

Ingredients For 14 Balls

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the popped popcorn in a large bowl.

2. COMBINE the marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan over low heat; cook until melted and smooth. To color the popcorn balls, add a few drops of food coloring to the smooth marshmallow mixture.

3. MIX well to distribute the color evenly, then pour over the popcorn. Toss gently to mix well. Cool for 5 minutes.

4. ADD the optional mix-ins and stir well to distribute.

5. BUTTER your hands well and form the mixture into 2-1/2 inch balls. Makes about 14 balls.
Variations:

Place nonpareils in a shallow bowl or plate. Roll popcorn balls in nonpareils after forming.
 

MORE POPCORN RECIPES

What Makes Popcorn Kernels Pop

 
 
SEASONAL POPCORN RECIPES