- [Host] This episode is sponsored by Cash App.
Cash App is the easiest way to send, spend and save money.
Send or request cash from friends and family
when they owe you for groceries,
holiday gifts or a round of drinks,
Cash App is available for anyone 13 or older.
Download it and use code Babish to get $15 for free
and $10 will be donated to No Kid Hungry.
- Well over at Seasons Eatings,
we have balls for every taste.
Popcorn balls, cheese balls, rum balls, you name it.
- Wow, my mouth's watering just thinking about those balls.
(audience laughs)
- It's been years since I've seen any balls.
(audience laughs)
- Would you like to see my balls now?
(audience laughs)
- Yeah. - Yeah, whip them out.
- Wow, you have some beautiful balls.
(audience laughs)
- [Host] Hey, what's up guys?
Welcome back to Binging with Babish,
where this week we're taking a look at some Schweddy Balls.
Now I'm not entirely sure
what was so funny about this sketch,
it seemed like a man trying to sell some holiday treats
from his family-run company.
I, myself, love balls and I've got some big, beautiful balls
right here that I think any friends or family
would be lucky for me to whip out any time of year,
but especially during the holidays.
So let's see how these guys are made.
First up, popcorn balls.
I'm adding 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to a big old pot,
along with a little sprinkle of kosher salt.
And I'm heating that over medium high heat
with a couple of popcorn kernels in the oil as indicators.
As soon as they pop, we know our oil is ready to go,
so we're going to take it off the heat.
Add one 1/2 cup of unpopped popcorn kernels,
toss them around a little bit to make sure
that everybody's nicely coated in the coconut oil.
Cover and let sit off the heat for 30 seconds.
This is going to allow the kernels
to come up to temperature gently
so that they pop more quickly and uniformly.
Now we're placing this back over the heat
and shaking constantly, preferably with some
oven gloves on like these, because as the popcorn pops,
it's going to produce a lot of hot steam.
It's also cool to do this with a glass lid
because it's one of the few opportunities
you get to see popcorn visibly popping.
Or maybe I'm just very easy to entertain.
As soon as all the popcorn's been popped,
we're placing it into a large heat-proof bowl,
salting it generously with kosher salt
while it's still warm so that it sticks.
And then we have to make a sort of caramel
to adhere our popcorn together.
Into a small saucepan, goes a 1/4 cup of water,
3/4 of a cup of sugar and 3/4 of a cup of light corn syrup.
We're placing this over medium heat and simmering
until it's reached 235 degrees Fahrenheit,
appropriately known as the soft ball stage.
At this point, we're taking the caramel off the heat
and pouring it over our popcorn in the heat proof bowl.
Now, if you haven't properly popped all your popcorn,
this is going to be the moment that you notice.
And these are, unfortunately, unacceptable
for this application cause nobody wants to crack a tooth
when they're eating a ball.
So while I did have to start over,
all those unpopped kernels
gave me the idea to add some peanuts,
which should bring a nice nutty flavor to our balls.
Go ahead and stir all this together
until the popcorn is evenly coated.
And then let it sit for three minutes
or until it's still nice and soft,
but cool enough to handle.
Now before handling your balls,
you're gonna want to throw on some gloves
and make sure that they're well-oiled.
As Mr. Schweddy himself suggests,
his balls get plenty of oil.
This is mostly to make sure that the popcorn
doesn't stick to your hands as you form it into balls.
Big old balls, about the size of an apple.
Which we're going to arrange
on a parchment-lined baking sheet,
and then drizzle with chocolate.
Popcorn balls are already pretty messy to eat
and this is just for decoration.
So no need to do anything crazy, like temper your chocolate.
Just drizzle some short and curlies on top of your balls
for a pleasant, textural and flavor sensation
when people put them in their mouths.
There you have it, some super easy festive
and dare I say, manly, popcorn balls.
Next up, an even easier style ball, the cheese ball.
First we're grading 8 ounces of sharp cheddar
and placing it in the bowl
of a stand mixer or food processor.
Then we're adding 16 ounces or 2 packages of cream cheese
for creaminess and spreadability.
A few dashes to a few glugs of your favorite hot sauce,
depending on how spicy you want your balls.
The greens of two finely chopped scallions
and to give your balls a little more funky cheesiness,
about two ounces of finely grated Parmesan.
A big old pinch of kosher salt,
and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper
and the zest or juice of one lemon,
depending on how tangy you want your balls.
Mix everybody together or blitz in the food processor
until it's relatively smooth,
but still has some texture to it.
Once again, generously oil your hands.
It's important these balls not stick
and that they get plenty of oil.
Divide in half and form into two spheres,
which now traditionally get covered in nuts.
Toasted and cooled pecans,
which we're going to chop up relatively finely.
Give our naked balls one last little squeeze
before we roll them around in our nuts.
And there you have it,
a big heaving pair of cheese balls.
Go ahead and cover and refrigerate these guys
until you're ready to serve.
Next and last, a 90's holiday classic, rum balls.
Into the bowl of a food processor
goes 8 ounces of vanilla wafer cookies,
about a 1/4 cup of cocoa powder,
4 ounces of toasted and cooled pecans,
and about a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar,
which we're in to process together
until it forms a kind of chunky powder.
Then in a medium bowl, we're combining
1/2 a cup of dark rum, 3 tablespoons
light corn syrup or honey,
and our processed cookie nut mixture.
Go ahead and mix all this together,
adding more rum if necessary
until it forms a firm, stiff, wet mass.
That's how you know it's time for balls.
Once again, grease up those hands, we want plenty of lube.
And begin rolling the dough into bite-sized balls.
Arranging them on a parchment paper-lined,
rimmed baking sheet.
Once your more realistically proportioned balls are formed,
it's time to roll them thoroughly in either
powdered sugar or cocoa powder or, hey, why not both,
if you like a little bit of visual variety in your balls.
And there you have it, rum balls.
Or the things that I used to sneak off
the table at Christmas parties when I was a kid,
as one of my very first acts of rebellion.
Now Mr. Schweddy delivers his balls in a sack,
which in this case, I think it would be impractical
to put these in a ball sack
as they are far too soft, squishy and delicate.
Instead, let's do a decorative platter.
And this one looks a little out of proportion.
I'm just going to switch things up here.
There we go, that seems a lot more natural
to me for some reason.
And there you have it, folks.
It's finally time to get some balls in our mouth.
First up, the popcorn balls,
which are apparently supposed to be very soft and chewy
and dense, not my favorite.
So the next time I might cook the caramel to a harder stage.
Go ahead and replace that, otherwise it just looks violent.
And dig into the cheese balls,
which are my new favorite thing.
There are a myriad of possibilities here.
You could literally shove any of your favorite cheeses,
cream cheese and vegetables into a food processor
and make something delicious.
And last but not least, the rum balls.
Little rummy, chocolatey spheres
of chewy, sweet, kind of crunchy, ball perfection.
I think we've made some balls here
that live up to the Schweddy name.
Thanks again to Cash App for sponsoring today's episode.
Use Cash App to send, spend and save your money.
You can invest in any stock or buy Bitcoin with just $1.
Cash App also comes with a customizable debit card
that will be laser printed and mailed to you.
When you download the app,
use code Babish to get $15 for free
and $10 will be donated to No Kid Hungry.
Cash App is available for anyone 13 or older,
download it at the link in the video description.
(upbeat music)