Candied Apple Popcorn Balls

I made these for a neighborhood get-together and people liked them, though not as much as the rocky road variation.  I had some dried apple slices on-hand and so used these after crisping them up in a low oven.  The syrup was of course very hot, which made shaping the balls difficult until the syrup had cooled to the point at which the popcorn wouldn't stick together.  It was also difficult to coat all of the popcorn evenly, so I microwaved (and re-microwaved) the mixture and used a heatproof spatula to press it into 1-cup measures, then slightly re-shaped them into balls by hand.  I liked the creativity and "seasonality" of the recipe, but I don't know that they'd be worth making again.