Halloween Popcorn Crunch

Halloween Popcorn crunch is not a cookie. But I've included it on this cookie site because it's so downright good.

And if you're popping corn for popcorn balls just do some extra for the crunch.

Halloween Popcorn Crunch Recipe

8 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup salted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup banana chips, broken into small pieces
1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In large buttered bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients and set aside.

In medium saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook, covered for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches hard-ball* stage. This will take about 4 to 5 more minutes.

Add the butter and vanilla and cook, stirring for 1 more minute.

Pour the sugar mixture over popcorn mixture and toss quickly to coat. Turn out onto a greased baking sheet and spread using buttered hands. Cool and break into pieces.

*Hard-Ball Stage

A lot of recipes, including Halloween Popcorn crunch, call for sugar cooked to a hard-ball stage.

Sugar syrup cooked to hard-ball stage has a temperature of 250 to 265 degrees on a candy thermometer. At this stage, the syrup will form thick, "ropy" threads as it drips from the spoon. The sugar concentration is rather high at this stage (About 92%), which means there's less and less moisture in the sugar syrup.

A little of this syrup dropped into cold water will form a hard ball. If you take the ball out of the water, it won't flatten. The ball will be hard, but you can still change its shape by squashing it.

Be very careful when cooking sugar to this stage for your Halloween Popcorn crunch. NO KIDDIES IN THE KITCHEN!!!