Popcorn clusters

Michael wanted to make popcorn balls last week. His mom used to make them, so we embraced the nostalgic craving and started looking for options. In the end we asked the Internet what we should do, and it told us to make this gingerbread caramel corn recipe. Not a popcorn ball per se, but it does harden into clusters of popcorn, and that's close enough for me.

There is a lot of sweetness in this recipe, but at least we used organic light corn syrup and organic molasses. That means it's actually healthy.

You've all made caramel before. This is exactly the same except you add baking soda at the end, which makes it foamy. I wonder why this ingredient is necessary?

And at least there's no gluten in the recipe. My wheat-free friends and family can enjoy this snack!

One way to curb the sweetness is to limit the coating on the popcorn.

This recipe makes you bake the final mix for an hour, which seems a bit long, but makes the final product extra crunchy. I enjoyed my serving with Michael and Sarah H, an episode of The Office and a glass of milk to cut the sweetness.