How to Make Cotton Candy Flavored Popcorn

Popping the Popcorn

Place the popcorn kernels in a paper bag. For cotton candy flavored popcorn, plain, air popped popcorn works best. Add 9 tablespoons (113 g) of unpopped popcorn to a brown paper bag, and fold the bag closed several times. When you’re making a large amount of popcorn, it may burst out of the bag when it pops. You may want to use a piece of tape to secure the bag closed. You should wind up with approximately 12 cups (96 g) of popped popcorn if you start with 9 tablespoons (113 g) of unpopped kernels.

Microwave the bag for several minutes. Once the popcorn kernels are secure in the bag, place it in the microwave. Heat the popcorn on high for 2 to 3 minutes, or until there are 4 seconds between each pop. The time needed to pop the popcorn will depend on your microwave. Start with just 2 minutes and only microwave it longer if there are a large number of unpopped kernels.

Transfer the popcorn to a bowl and pick out the any unpopped kernels. After the popcorn has finished popping, carefully remove the bag from the microwave. Allow it to cool for 1 to 2 minutes, and then dump it into a large bowl. Sort through the popcorn, and remove any unpopped kernels. You can also remove any burnt or misshapen pieces of popcorn.

Making Cotton Candy Coated Popcorn

Melt the vanilla candy melts in the microwave. Add 16 ounces (453 g) of vanilla candy melts to a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the melts for 1 minute at 50% power, and then stir the bowl to ensure that the candy melts evenly. Continue heating the melts in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until the candy is fully melted. You can substitute marshmallow flavored candy melts for the vanilla if you prefer.

Add some of the popcorn to a bowl and mix with the melted candy melts. Take 8 cups (64 g) of the popcorn you’ve popped, and place it in a large bowl. Pour the melted candy melts into the bowl, and use a spatula to stir the mixture until the popcorn is well coated. Be gentle as you’re stirring the popcorn and candy melts together. You don’t want to break the popcorn pieces.

Stir in the cotton candy. Once the popcorn is coated with the candy melts, add 2 cups (480 g) of cotton candy that’s torn into small pieces to the bowl. Fold the cotton candy in with the spatula so it’s evenly distributed throughout the popcorn. You can usually purchase cotton candy at candy stores and some grocery stores.

Spread the popcorn out and add sprinkles. After you’ve mixed the cotton candy in, pour the popcorn out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle ¼ cup (40 g) of colored sprinkles over the popcorn, and toss to combine the two. You can omit the sprinkles if you prefer.

Melt the blue and pink candy melts in separate bowls. Take 2 small microwave-safe bowls, and add 3 ounces (85 g) of blue candy melts to one bowl and 3 ounces (85 g) pink candy melts to the other. Heat them in the microwave one at a time to melt them just as you did with the vanilla candy melts. If you prefer, you can use just one color of the melts. However, using blue and pink makes the popcorn look like cotton candy.

Divide the remaining popcorn in half and mix each one with a different color of the melts. Take the remaining 4 cups (32 g) of popcorn, and divide it in half. Place 2 cups (16 g) in one medium bowl and the other 2 cups (16 g) in another. Mix the blue candy melts into the first bowl and the pink candy melts into the second to coat each half. Use a spatula to gently mix the popcorn and candy melts so you don’t break the popcorn.

Spread the popcorn out on a cookie sheet to set. After you’ve mixed the two bowls of popcorn with the colored candy melts, pour each out on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow the popcorn to sit for 3 to 5 minutes so the candy coating can set.

Combine all of the popcorn. When the colored candy coating has set on the popcorn, transfer the blue, pink, and white popcorn into one large bowl. Gently toss all of the popcorn together to mix the colors, and serve. The popcorn makes ideal party favors for a birthday or baby shower. Place it in small cellophane bags and tie them off with blue and pink ribbon.

Preparing Cotton Candy Popcorn Balls

Combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup. Add 1 cup (237 ml) of water, 1 ⅔ cups (333 g) of sugar, and ⅓ cup (100 g) of light corn syrup to a large pot. Whisk the ingredients together, and heat on the stove on medium. It’s best to use a heavy-bottomed pan when you’re mixing up the syrup. When you’re whisking the mixture, avoid getting sugar crystals stuck to the sides of the pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil for several minutes. Allow the mixture to heat on the stove until it comes to a boil, which should take 5 to 10 minutes. Once it reaches a boil, let it bubble it for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until it takes on a syrup-like consistency. Do not walk away from the stove while the mixture is boiling because it can easily bubble over. Lower the heat if it seems like that’s about to happen. Don’t stir the mixture as you’re boiling it. If sugar crystals are stuck to the side of the pot, use a pastry brush to push them down. The finished syrup shouldn’t be golden. The sugar should remain clear.

Remove the syrup from the heat and add the cotton candy oil and vanilla. After you’ve cooked the syrup, take the pan off the heat. Mix in 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of cotton candy flavor oil and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of vanilla extract until they’re thoroughly combined. Cotton candy flavor oil is like flavored extract that you’d use for baking. You can usually find it in the baking aisle of your grocery store, but a variety of online stores sell it as well. If you want to make colored cotton candy popcorn balls, you can add a few drops of blue or pink food coloring to the syrup too.

Fold in the popcorn and allow to cool for several minutes. Once the cotton candy oil and vanilla are mixed into the syrup, add the 12 cups (96 g) of popcorn that you made earlier. Use a spatula to gently fold it in, so all of the popcorn is well coated with the syrup.

Form the popcorn into balls. After you’ve mixed in the popcorn, let the mixture sit for 2 to 3 minutes so the syrup has time to cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle, use clean hands to shape the popcorn into balls. You can make the balls as large or as small as you’d like, but a handful of the popcorn mixture makes a good size ball. If you want to make the popcorn balls easier to hold, you can stick popsicle sticks or straws into the bottom of the balls to serve as handles.

Melt the candy melts in the microwave. Place 1 ½ cups (338 g) of pink or blue candy melts in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat the melts in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute. Remove the bowl and stir well. Continue heating the melts in 30 second intervals until the candy is completely melted. Be sure to stir the candy after each heating interval so it melts evenly.

Dip the balls in the melted candy and add sprinkles. When the candy is melted, take each popcorn ball and dip the bottom in the candy coating. While the candy is still warm, sprinkle colorful sprinkles over it for garnish.