It was May. Ok, not just May, it was the END of May. Between school and activities wrapping up, a plethora of birthdays and anniversaries, travel, home renovations, and sickness (really??!!!), my sweet daughters birthday comes right at the end of it all. I had warned her early on that we would not be sharing treats with her classroom at school this year since there was so much going on. But then I saw this cute little picture on Pinterest of cotton candy popcorn that summed up her entire personality in one shot – a fun and colorful bowl full of sweetness! I knew a little extra effort was to be put forth because the fact that you and your child made it through another year is worth celebrating! Armed with colored candy melts, marshmallows and sprinkles, I set out to surprise her at school.
Finding a gluten free treat to share with 25+ kids is not always easy. Cotton candy popcorn was the perfect allergen-friendly solution to fit the needs of her class. Because it lends to the sweeter side of things, about a ½ cup in a cute little bag did the trick for each kid.
One great thing about this recipe is the availability of plain popped popcorn and cotton candy at your local grocery store. You can easily purchase these already made and it will taste just as amazing if you made it yourself, plus it will make your recipe come together in a snap. We happen to own a cotton candy machine, so I opted for strawberry cotton candy for the pink color. I often see bags of cotton candy at the grocery store these days.
In addition, I popped my own popcorn using one of the most trusted and used kitchen appliances I own – the Whirley Pop. This is one of those appliances I never knew I needed until I had one and now will never live without one. Over 18 years ago, we received a Whirley Pop as an unexpected wedding gift and I use it all the time. Best gift ever! This thing is dinged, burned, crusted, and slightly bent in odd places and it still works like the day I first received it. And I fully expect it to last for the next 20 years!
Let’s talk about the candy melts for a minute. The ones I use are made by Wilton (like these here: Wilton Candy Melts), and I find them incredibly handy due to the fact they are already colored. While they don’t contain any gluten in the ingredients, they are processed on equipment shared with other wheat ingredients. I totally understand if you’re not comfortable using these. I’m a little back and forth on what I accept as safe in terms of shared equipment in processing. In fact, if you know of another safe option please comment below!
Here are a few options if you decide not to use Wilton candy melts:
- leave out the colored popcorn and use a gluten free sprinkle instead
- use a gluten free food coloring in the marshmallows, after it’s melted but before you mix with the popcorn. This will turn the entire batch that one color
- use gluten free white chocolate and color with an oil-based food coloring (this will prevent any clumping in the chocolate)
Cotton candy popcorn tastes just as amazing as it looks! I hope you enjoy playing around with different colors. I’m already dreaming of red, white and blue cotton candy popcorn for the 4th of July…
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Cotton Candy Popcorn
Ingredients
- 12 cups plain popped popcorn
- 1 - 10 oz. bag marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup colored sprinkles
- 2 cups cotton candy
- 3 oz. pink candy melts
- 3 oz. blue candy melts
- 3 oz. yellow candy melts
Instructions
- Lightly coat a large microwavable bowl with cooking spray and then place the marshmallows in the bowl. Heat for 1 minute in the microwave, stir, and continue heating for additional 30 seconds until all of the marshmallows have melted and are smooth. Tip: lightly coat your spoon with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add 9 cups of popcorn and gently stir to coat the popcorn in marshmallow. Place approx. 2 ft. strip of wax paper on the counter. (Alternatively, you can spread the popcorn over the wax paper and pour the melted marshmallows over the popcorn, gently tossing to coat.) Spread the coated popcorn over the wax paper.
- Evenly distribute colored sprinkles over the popcorn.
- Break small chunks of cotton candy off (approx. 1 in. in diameter) and place throughout the popcorn. Allow the popcorn to sit and cool.
- In a small microwavable bowl, place 3 oz. of desired color candy melt. Melt in 30 second intervals, until the candy is smooth and melted. Place 1 cup popcorn in the bowl and gently toss to coat. Spread over wax paper, and allow to cool and harden. Repeat with remaining popcorn and candy melts.
- Once the marshmallow and candy melt popcorn has cooled and hardened, gently break apart any large pieces. Combine the colored candy melt popcorn with the marshmallow popcorn.
- Place in a large bowl and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from: https://bitzngiggles.com/cotton-candy-popcorn/
Hey there! Just As Good Gluten Free LLC participates in the Amazon Associates Program, which mean many outgoing links on Just As Good Gluten Free are affiliate links. After clicking on a link, I may receive a small percentage of the sale for referring you, which comes at no extra cost to you. This allows me to continue creating gluten free recipes for you! Many thanks – Amy
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