Chewy popcorn balls are a Halloween tradition for us. I highly recommend eating them while watching a Halloween movie. Like maybe a cheesy 90's one with a cat named Binx and references to 'yabos'.
If you know what I'm talking about, I love you.
These popcorn balls are very sweet and heavy on the caramel. If you like a higher popcorn ratio you can add an additional half bag of popcorn. These stay soft and chewy even once cooled but need to be eaten the same day. The popcorn gets "stale" after that so unfortunately these aren't great to make ahead.
This is a recipe you'll want to read through before beginning because if you don't live at sea level you may need to do a little calculation to find the right temperature for cooking your caramel.
That said, I've made these several times without a candy thermometer, just cooking about 5-7 minutes and they've been fine every time. They may just stick to your teeth a little more. :) I live 4500 ft above sea level so I can't vouch for that happening if you live at a very different altitude, but so far these have been foolproof for me.
