Old Fashioned Pink Popcorn

Published November 22, 2011. Updated January 28, 2019

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I cannot express to you how excited I am to finally have found this recipe!!  Do you remember this popcorn?  My Grandmother made this countless times for us.

She would bring a recycled ice cream pail full of it to family gatherings, parties or she’d just have some prepared for us grand kids when we’d come to visit.   My sweet Grandmother passed away many years ago and I haven’t been able to find the recipe… until yesterday!

I have tried several other recipes I’ve found on the web and non of them produced the result I was looking for.  One of them even produced a wet coating similar to caramel corn (this is that amazing popcorn that dries and tastes like candy =).  If you, like me, ever ate this as a child then this popcorn will take you back in time.

There are so many memories attached to this recipe.  For those of you who haven’t tried it before, now is the time!  It is for kids and adults alike.  I’m pretty sure I ate at least half the bowl in one sitting =).  This is the perfect treat for a party, gift giving, holidays (as you can choose the color), movie watching and just any time you need a delicious addictive treat!  I hope you become as excited as me about this recipe!  You’ll be fighting for the flakes straggling behind in the bowl (those are my favorite =).

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5 from 6 votes

Old Fashioned Pink Popcorn

Pretty in pink, perfectly fun and delicious popcorn just like Grandma made!
Servings: 12
Prep10 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Pop popcorn into a large bowl according to manufactures directions.
  • Pour popped popcorn into two very large mixing bowls, set aside.
  • In a large saucepan whisk together sugar, half and half, corn syrup and salt. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved.
  • Heat mixture to 232 degrees, stirring occasionally. Immediately remove from heat and pour in vanilla and food coloring. Drizzle mixture over popped popcorn.
  • Gently stir popcorn until mixture is evenly coated and coating begins to dry (you'll notice the popcorn kernels separating).
  • Pour mixture onto waxed paper and allow to dry about 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Recipe adapted from here

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142 Comments

  • Shannon

    Just made and same problem. Still sticky, ots been drying for a couple of hours. I guess I will try to toast it in the oven. Not humid weather and boil to the right temperature. Somethings wrong with this recipe.

  • Erica

    Is there a way to do this and substitute the half and half with something else, for people who have dairy allergies? Thanks!

  • Francesca

    This is beyond cute :} Love it! I’ve included it in my Valentine’s Day roundup with a link back here, hope this is ok! ♥

  • JP

    What kind of oil do you recommend popping the corn in? I’m not good with popping my own corn and I definitely don’t want a weird oily taste to go with this sweet recipe. My daughter is in LOVE with popcorn – we share some almost every day – and I’d love to perfect this little treat for her.

  • CIndy

    Just Made this but stayed sticky looks pretty but sticky what did I do wrong please

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      If you read through some of the comments above there are some suggestions. Sorry it didn’t turn out perfect!

  • Gisele

    How far ahead can I prepare this popcorn? Am trying to save some time on my daughters birthday :))

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I prefer this be eaten within a day, it starts to get stale pretty quickly for some reason.

  • Doris Calvert

    I remember Lucky Elephant popcorn that was pink with a prize in the box.

  • Chris

    I have made this recipe 2 time. The first time I made it as directed, it was soggy… The second time, I made the syrup as directed, but I cooked it at a rolling boil for 5 minutes, on medium heat. Stirring enough to keep it from scorching I popped up more popcorn. 1 cup of kernels. I also use an air popper. And I baked it at 250* for 40 minutes. Stirring after 20 minutes. Also I made mine orange color and added a few drops of orange flavoring. Its crunchy and yummy. Now that I have perfected this recipe I will make it in pink for my daughters baby shower as a favor gift.