Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
Tis’ the season for holiday celebrations with festive treats!
As the year’s biggest holiday celebrations approach, moms are planning ahead for all of their entertaining, gift giving and decorating needs to ensure their friends and family’s favorite treats are available. Nestlé is here to help with an innovative, budget-friendly candy and recipes that will leave moms smiling and also have Santa skipping cookies and reaching for Nestlé candy!
Moms can kick off the holiday season with these unique products from WONKA, Nestlé Crunch and Butterfinger that are all less than $10 and are great treats for gatherings and as thoughtful gifts.
Popcorn Balls Recipe
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Total Time To Complete: 15 Minutes
Makes: 15 popcorn balls
Ingredients:
- WONKA® SweeTARTS® Merry Mix and Holiday Gummies
- WONKA® NERDS®
- 1 lb. marshmallows
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup raw popcorn, popped (about 10 cups popped)
- Food coloring (optional)
- Nonstick baking spray or additional butter for greasing hands
Directions:
I’ve been making popcorn balls with my family for as long as I can remember. My Grandma was the popcorn ball queen and because it was so much for all of us grandkids – we made them often!
Popcorn balls didn’t just make an appearance at Christmas time, we had them at Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s Day, you name it! Any day can be the RIGHT day for popcorn balls – especially when they’re made with love.
As soon as my kids were old enough, popcorn balls became a Christmas tradition for us too. There is something incredibly exciting about mixing marshmallow (my kid’s favorite food group...) and popcorn together and making “balls” with them.
Sure, it’s a little messy, but what good fun isn’t? Just a couple of tips before we get started:
Set up your work station in advance. Make sure you have the candy mix-ins out and easily available for little hands.
Have a wet towel nearby if you’re planning on taking pictures and NOT destroying your camera.
Always, always remind your little ones to generously butter their hands before each popcorn ball creation. It does two things – protect hands from the heat of the melted marshmallows AND keeps it from sticking.
Let’s do this!
Step 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish or two 8x8 square dishes with non-stick spray. Fill the dishes with freshly popped popcorn and place in the oven to keep warm. I would definitely recommend separate dishes for each kid – makes it SO much easier!
Step 2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the marshmallows and stir frequently until they fully melt. Turn off the heat and add in the vanilla and optional food coloring. (Start with a couple of drops and add more as needed until you get the color you want.)
Step 3. Pull the baking dish(es) full of popcorn out of the oven. Drizzle the marshmallow and butter mixture over the popcorn – get as much out as you can because it’s sticky.
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Step 4. Now comes the fun part – for the kids that is. You can either spray your hands with the baking spray or cover them in butter. The marshmallow mixture is HOT so be careful. The butter or spray is to protect your hands from the heat as well as to keep the marshmallow from sticking to your hands.
Step 5. Use your well-buttered hands or a wooden spoon to mix up the popcorn and marshmallow mixture until the popcorn is evenly coated. Sprinkle on your choice of candy. The boys went crazy over the Nerds® and I have to say that those were my favorite too! The SweeTARTS® Merry Mix and Holiday Gummies also looked really cute in the popcorn balls and tasted amazing!
Step 6. Grab a handful of popcorn and start forming it into a ball squeezing firmly to make sure the popcorn ball sticks together.And that’s it! It’s such an easy but fun recipe to make with the kids and the best part is definitely the reward of eating the fruits of your labors.Also you can wrap up the balls in plastic wraps and tie pretty ribbons at either end. This is a great way to take them to a Christmas party or to hand out to friends and family.
**New** Wonka Pixy Stix Powder Filled Candy Canes
Wow your family with the first ever PixyStix power filled cherry flavored candy canes. They're sure to delight and surprise them with a unique twist on a classic treat and even more fun to eat!
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SweeTARTS Holday Gummies
Featuring a new look! The tree, star, bell, and snowman-shaped chewed SweeTARTS Holiday Gummies in festive red cherry and green apple are perfect for snacking and sharing at get-togethers with friends and family.
Get Your Holiday Cooking On With Nestle At The Following Places:
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
