Old-fashioned Pink Popcorn made with whipping cream, sugar & pink coloring for a festive, candy coated treat! Pink popcorn perfect for parties, baby showers or anyone who loves PINK!
This pink popcorn recipe creates a pretty, fluffy, and crunchy dessert. Pink popcorn is so addictingly good you will want to make multiple batches!
Fun Pink Popcorn
Trust me when I say that this popcorn tastes as good as it looks and making it is super easy as well. With just a few minutes of prep, you can have a large batch of pink-colored candied popcorn ready to eat and share. This old-fashioned pink popcorn recipe is one you will not soon forget. It is absolutely perfect for any occasion, from watching the classic Molly Ringwald movie “Pretty in Pink”, to serving it up as a snack, at a baby shower or a princess-themed birthday party. With so many options to show off this pink popcorn recipe, you will find plenty of excuses for whipping up a batch.
Pink Popcorn Ingredients
–Popcorn Kernels: You will need ½ cup of un-popped popcorn kernels for this recipe. This will make several cups of freshly popped popcorn. Alternatively, you can use 3 bags of popped popcorn.
–Sugar: Use 2 cups of granulated sugar for a sweet coating that will harden into a crunchy candy coating over all the popcorn pieces.
–Whipping cream: To make the candy coating taste richer, add in ⅔ cups of heavy whipping cream.
–Corn syrup: You will need 2 tablespoons of corn syrup to help the candy coating to thicken and get a nice shine.
–Salt: Adding in ¼ teaspoon of salt will enhance the flavors in the coating.
–Vanilla extract: Use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to make the pink popcorn taste fantastic.
–Food coloring: You will need about 2-3 drops of RED food coloring to make this popcorn look pink because the white cream will turn the red into a nice shade of pink. You can use more or less coloring to get your desired hue.
Step by step on how to make Old Fashion Pink Popcorn
Pop the Popcorn
Start by pouring the oil into a large pot and heat it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
Next, add the popcorn kernels to the pan and then cover with a lid.
Be sure to gently shake the pot occasionally to prevent burning.
Then, once the popcorn begins to pop, decrease the heat slightly and shake the pot more consistently.
When you can count to 3 between pops, remove the pot from the heat.
Remove the un-popped kernels from the popped ones and discard them. Check out this kitchen hack to remove un-popped kernels, genius!
Pour the popped popcorn into a large bowl. Making the syrup will take less than 10 minutes so you want to make sure that your popcorn is popped first and ready to go.
Candy Coating
In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat on the stove, you will need to combine the sugar, whipping cream, corn syrup and salt.
Proceed to bring the mixture to a full boil, one that you cannot stir away.
Set the oven timer for 4 minutes and let it boil. If you have a candy thermometer you can use it, you want the temperature of the sugar to reach 235 degrees F. If you do not have a candy thermometer, 4 minutes of boiling will suffice.
After that is complete, remove the pan from the heat and add in the vanilla extract and red food coloring. Stir until well combined.
Combine the popcorn and pink coating
Proceed to pour the pink coating mixture over the popcorn and gently stir together until well coated.
Next, ;ay the popcorn out to cool on wax paper, gently breaking up the pieces after it has set.
This treat tastes best when served immediately. Enjoy!
Pretty In Pink Popcorn
Ingredients
- ½ cup unpopped popcorn kernels or 3 bags of microwave popcorn
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 drops red food coloring
Instructions
- Start by pouring the oil into a large pot and heat it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the popcorn kernels to the pan and then cover with a lid. Be sure to gently shake the pot occasionally to prevent burning.
- Then, once the popcorn begins to pop, decrease the heat slightly and shake the pot more consistently. When you can count to 3 between pops, remove the pot from the heat.
- Remove the unpopped kernels from the popped ones and discard them.
- Pour the popped popcorn into a large bowl. Making the syrup will take less than 10 minutes so you want to make sure that your popcorn is popped first and ready to go.
- In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat on the stove, combine the sugar, whipping cream, corn syrup and salt. Proceed to bring the mixture to a full boil, one that you cannot stir away.
- Set the oven timer for 4 minutes and let it boil. If you have a candy thermometer you can use it, you want the temperature of the sugar to reach 235 degrees F. If you do not have a candy thermometer, 4 minutes of boiling will suffice.
- After that is complete, remove the pan from the heat and add in the vanilla extract and red food coloring. Stir until well combined.
- Procced to pour the pink coating mixture over the popcorn and gently stir together until well coated.
- Next, lay the popcorn out to cool on wax paper, gently breaking up the pieces after it has set. This treat tastes best when served immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Why is my candied popcorn sticky?
Candied popcorn, once fully cooled will not be sticky and gooey, but instead, have a light hard layer of candy coating. If your popcorn is still sticky it could be because you either didn’t let the candy coating rest long enough to set or you didn’t boil it long enough. The longer you boil your candy coating, the harder the shell will become. Using a candy thermometer is the most accurate way to determine if your sugar coating is ready.
How do I color popcorn pink?
Making your popcorn pink is very easy (and fun) to do! All you need is a wet mixture and some red food coloring. The wet mixture in our case is the candy coating which will help to evenly distribute the food coloring around all of the popcorn kernels. The amount of red food coloring needed will vary as gel-based and water-based food colorings both contain different concentrations of the color meaning you may need less of one type to get your desired hue. If you have a nice pink food coloring dye on hand already you can go ahead and use that instead. Just add enough of it to get the color desired, and enjoy!
How long will pink popcorn last?
This delicious popcorn treat will last for 3-5 days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Making sure it is sealed and airtight will extend the shelf life as long as possible.
Love popcorn? So do we! Here are some other popcorn recipes to try!
- Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn
- Caramel Popcorn Cake
- Better than Caramel Popcorn
- Peanut Butter Popcorn
- Chocolate Popcorn
- Peppermint Popcorn
- Caramel Popcorn
- Game Day Popcorn Mix
- Halloween Popcorn Mix
- Snickers Peanut Butter Popcorn
- Homemade Stovetop Popcorn
- Easy Microwave Caramel Popcorn
Old fashioned pink popcorn is a fun and colorful treat that everyone can enjoy. Made from scratch, this candied coated popcorn is a deliciously crunchy sweet treat ready for any good party!
Aimee @ like mother like daughter says
This popcorn is so cute and sounds so good! It would be great for Valentine’s day!
Ashlee says
It’s seriously SO pretty! love the pink! And I love the various ways to make popcorn!
Rachel @ The Stay At Home Chef says
This would be so fun for a princess party or a girl’s night out!
Jessica says
Agreed, Rachel!
Kara says
I know a certain four year old at our house that would go crazy for this popcorn. It looks so yummy!
Jessica says
Thanks Kara!
Susan says
Every girl needs a little Pink in her life! Love this!
Jessica says
It’s so fun isn’t it?! 🙂
Lisa says
Not only is this recipe adorable but tastes great too. The only issue I had, was that the candy coating never completely hardened and my popcorn stuck together, staying guey. Did I do something wrong?
Jessica says
It sounds like you didn’t cook it quite long enough Lisa. Add a couple more minutes next time! Glad you enjoyed it!
Rachel Tan says
I hate it when people put a 5-star review and says “looks yummy” and “will definitely make this”. If you havent tried the recipe, please do not comment or make a review.
I made this popcorn last night and it is soggy. 1 tsp of vanilla / flavouring was a bit much. If you are using diluted cheap vanilla – maybe it is ok, or just use half. It is too sweet – I would halve the sugar. There is too much liquid at the end of it, so maybe use less cream.
One of the comments mentioned drying the popcorn in the oven at 200F. I did that for 30minutes (checking and mixing every 10 minutes). Although it crystallized the sugar.
The instruction was spot on with getting the temperature to 235F in 4 minutes.
Is it a recipe I would recommend? No
Is it something I would make it again? Yes, but I will tweak the recipe.