JELL-O Popcorn Balls

As a young’un, I remember diving headfirst into a pile of leaves in our backyard and hearing the sound of my dad’s voice trailing behind me:

“Watch out for the dog poooooppppp…”

I haven’t been able to look at a pile of leaves with the same reckless abandon since.

These popcorn balls remind me of that time. Rest assured, there’s no dog shit or leaves in the recipe. Cakers can be cheap when it comes to ingredients, but not that cheap, for God’s sake. That said, there is a dog shit equivalent in popcorn balls: unpopped kernels.

All I can say is don’t start chowing down on these balls before stopping to consider what could be lurking beneath the surface. New teeth ain’t cheap, after all.

6 tablespoons butter

3 cups mini marshmallows or 24 large

3 tablespoons JELL-O powder (pick a colour for different occasions)

3 quarts popcorn or ¾ cup kernels

Melt butter and marshmallows. Blend in JELL-O powder. Mix with popcorn. Butter hands and shape into balls.

Source: Our 20th Anniversary Cookbook, Lambeth Co-operative Playschool Inc., Lambeth, Ontario