How About A Snack - Chocolate Popcorn Anyone?
Chocolate is probably the most preferred treat in the world. It comes in so many flavors, combinations and shapes, as anyone can find a preferred assortment out there. There re hundreds, if not thousands of types of chocolate desserts and sometimes choosing can be very difficult. There are chocolate bars several feet long (yes, you can buy a chocolate having your own length) and there are small pieces of delicious flavored chocolates. The competition to offer the most exquisite treat is very stiff and we can benefit from this because of the affordable prices on different chocolate assortments. There even is chocolate popcorn, small pieces of chocolate resembling the so-popular snack. However, there are many types of chocolate popcorn and, unfortunately, not all of them resemble the popcorn. Some of the best resembling products have a thin layer of white chocolate to give them a popcorn aspect. You can even notice the popcorn gulls and their color seems not to be affected by the white chocolate coating. There were scattered kernels, and there were chocolate kernels stuck together. In some of the pieces the popcorn flavor was predominant, while in others the chocolate flavor. Indeed, the chocolate popcorn is sweet and very tasty, making it a very interesting popcorn variation. If you would like to make it for your own, there are several recipes available and I made out a selection just below. Enjoy! The first recipe is for milk chocolate popcorn. What you need is 12 cups popped popcorn, 2 and 1/2 cups (12-ounce can) salted peanuts, 1 and 3/4 cups (11.5-ounce package) Milk Chocolate Morsels. Other ingredients include 1 cup light corn syrup and 1/4 cup butter or margarine. Preheat the oven (300F) and grease the roasting pan. Mix the popcorn and the nuts in the roasting pan. Combine morsels, the corn syrup and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. When the chocolate is over, pour over the popcorn. Bake the mixture in the oven, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes. Let it to cool slightly and the resulted chocolate popcorn can be stored in airtight container for up to two weeks. Another easy to make recipe is for chocolate popcorn - Peanut bars. The basic ingredients are: 2 1/2 cups of popcorn and peanuts, 1/2 c. butter, 1 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. corn syrup, 1/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of salt, 6 oz. pkg. chocolate bits, 1 peanut butter and 4 c. marshmallows. Place the popped corn and the peanuts in an oven proof bowl and heat the oven at 140 degrees. Melt in a pan the butter, the brown sugar, the corn syrup, the cup of water and the salt. Cook the mixture until the chocolate forms firm balls. When it is done, take it out of the oven and pour it over the mixture of popcorn and peanuts. Next, heat the chocolate bits, peanut butter, and the marshmallows. When this mixture is also melted and mixed well, spread it over the popcorn mixture. Refrigerate 24 hours. You now have a delicious treat to serve your family and if all goes well, you may even be asked to make the treats for birthdays and holidays. |
