For someone who doesn’t post a lot of holiday stuff I got totally wrapped up in Valentine’s Day this year.  And most of it was last minute but I really wanted to share it.  One thing that was planned out was this candy popcorn recipe that I collaborated on with Kristin of Meringue Bake Shop.  Many people know her from her cupcakes and PushCakes.  But she is SO much more.  Twice she has made this delicious candy popcorn for parties for me and it is always a hit.  And it can’t be more perfect for Valentine’s Day.

This candy popcorn recipe is totally easy.  I’m afraid to use a candy thermometer so that is why I wanted Kristin involved.  I thought this would be too hard for me to make considering I am not a great baker.  Or cook.  Or dishwasher…But color me surprised when I found out all you need is popped popcorn, sugar, light corn syrup and flavored Jello!  I will be making this.  A lot.  And then buying bigger pants.

You make an easy syrup mixture on the store and add the Jello for flavoring.

Simply pour the syrup over popped popcorn and stir to coat.  Whenever I made caramel corn I buy a disposable roasting pan from the store.  It makes stirring easy especially when you’ve got hot sugar your dealing with which is just waiting to coat your finger and leave you an unpleasant burn.  Not that it has happened…This also makes clean up a cinch since you just throw the pan away when done instead of having to clean of that hard candy coating.  But this is also wasteful.  So I should really just buy a legit roasting pan.  But then I would have no where to store it.  And that, my friends, is my inner dialogue.

And this is my husband.  I think he was feeling left out because our kids are always in posts.  He wouldn’t leave until I took a picture.  But he’s pretty cute so I decided to leave him in.  But if your husband isn’t as cute, just skip this part.

Then you spread out the coated popcorn on a baking sheet to finish off in the oven.  This steps makes it crispy instead of gooey.  Gooey is fine too, but a good crunch never hurt anything.  You can sort of make out some little gold hearts here.  Remember when I added stars to champagne?  Well I also had the edible hearts.  And they just make sense to use on a Valentine’s Day snack.  We added them to the popcorn before baking so they would stick to it.

And there you have it.  Super easy candy popcorn for Valentine’s Day.  Or any day.  Kid’s love this, in case you had any doubts.  And those hearts make it super romantic.

Just add some heart candies and homemade vanilla bean marshmallows (see I told you Kristin is awesome) and you’ve got the perfectly adorable Valentine’s spread.

Recipe from Jello Rainbow Popcorn Recipe

Ingredients:

8 cups popped popcorn (I have a microwavable bowl that I use with kernals but you can also use plain microwavable bags if you have to)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine – can also use butter but my food allergic son can eat it if I use his margarine = happy kid

3 TBSP light corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 package (4 serving size) any flavor Jello – not the sugar free kind.  Gross.  We used cherry.  Amazeballs.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray foil with a small bit of cooking spray so it won’t stick.  Set aside.

Place margarine and corn syrup in small saucepan on medium heat and stir until butter is melted.  Add sugar and Jello.  Stir to combine and until Jello is completely dissolved.

Bring to a boil on medium heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix popped popcorn and syrup until well coated.  Spread on to prepared sheet pan and spread out evenly.  Bake 10 minutes.  Cool.  Remove from pan and break in to small pieces.  Or grab huge chunks and shove them in your face.

Kristin made this peach version of candy popcorn for Lauren’s bridal shower.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Thanks for doing this post with my Kristin!  Get excited.  Kristin is starting a blog where she is going to share a bunch more of her tutorials.  And not just on sweet treats.  She is a talented lady and has lots to share!

Image of peach popcorn by Dez and Tam