During the festivities at the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Christmas party in 1964 (see Canadian Clubhouse Punch and Lucky Strike Holiday Eggnog), a conga line forms and snakes through the office, past tables laden with holiday treats. We spotted a classic next to the candy canes: a bowl of red and white popcorn balls.
There are accounts, perhaps apocryphal, that Native Americans gave English settlers in Massachusetts popcorn balls made with maple syrup at the first Thanksgiving. It is at least fair to say that popcorn balls bound with syrup or molasses have been around for well over a century, according to Andrew F. Smith, author of Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America (Smithsonian, 2001). Popcorn’s various forms, including popcorn threaded onto lengths of string, have been a part of festive decorations for Christmas and other holidays at least since the late nineteenth century. In the 1960s, popcorn balls were popular Halloween treats and sold at country fairs, ball games, and the circus.
Popcorn ball recipes proliferated in the United States after the Civil War. The techniques and ingredients varied, but the basic concept was the same: use a heated adhering agent—syrup, sugar, or molasses—then add salt and butter and use the agent to shape the popcorn into a sphere. Flavorings such as chocolate, peppermint and vanilla were eventually added, as were foods like strawberries, nuts, and marshmallows to embellish the original. Additives such as food coloring could turn a normally white popcorn ball into an edible Christmas decoration, like the red and white popcorn balls on display at the Sterling Cooper Christmas party.
This recipe for popcorn balls is derived from Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cookbook (1965), but this recipe uses marshmallows and butter in place of molasses to hold the popcorn together.
At the insistence of Lee Garner, Jr., the firm’s most important client, Roger Sterling dons a Santa suit at the holiday party. He looks pretty forlorn wearing it, but maybe a popcorn ball will restore his Christmas cheer. That and a few martinis.
ADAPTED FROM BETTY CROCKER’S NEW BOYS AND GIRLS COOKBOOK (GOLDEN PRESS—WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC., 1965)
7 cups freshly popped popcorn
3 cups mini marshmallows
2 tablespoons butter
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
YIELD: APPROXIMATELY 12 2-INCH BALLS