Not to Bake

Move along, folks. No baking to see here.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Want to hear something funny? Not really "ha ha" funny, but more "you're really weird" funny.

I am not much on cupcakes.

There. I said it. Feels good to be out of that closet.

I will take a small test bite or two, but cupcakes and I don't have the dysfunctional relationship that Oreos and I have. My husband feels the same. Needless to say, the majority of the cupcakes I make are given away. But only after my daughter has had a few. Ever since her first birthday, when she sees a cupcake she squeals like Elmo himself is standing in front of her.

The other day while I was frosting my practice batch, she was intently watching me. Out of nowhere, she excitedly picked up her play cell phone and "called" someone. The only words I understood were "mama," "cupcakes" and "okay, bye!" This must have been breaking news on the toddler circuit.

After all the recent cupcake making, I needed a salty/sweet snack. For me, salty/sweet snacks are in the same realm as Oreos. Only slightly more dangerous.

Lately, I have been seeing lots of variations of chocolate covered popcorn on the internet and I had to give it a try. Here is where the "Not to Bake" part of this blog comes into play. (I will have more of these posts in the future.) This recipe involves no baking. It is so incredibly easy and the results are super fantastic. 

Chocolate Covered Popcorn

1 bag white chocolate chips

1 bag microwave popcorn (preferably natural flavor with no butter)

Pop the corn as directed. 

Pour chips into a microwave safe bowl and cook 1 minute on high. Stir. Repeat at 30 second increments stirring in between until chips are almost melted. Once the majority of the chocolate is melted and there are just a few chips left, keep stirring them into the warm chocolate and they will melt on their own. This keeps you from having to microwave the chocolate further and avoids the risk of scorching. 

Pour the chocolate over the popcorn and toss to coat. It's easiest to use your hands here. Yes, it is messy, but I found a spoon or spatula doesn't work as well and tends to just crush the popcorn.

Once the popcorn is coated, pour onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and allow the chocolate to set up. (This is where I tossed on some of that purple sugar.) Break into pieces and place in an airtight container.

There are so many ways you can go with this recipe. Of course you could use milk chocolate instead of white. You could toss in nuts, pretzels, colored sprinkles or M&M's. You could even accent  the white chocolate popcorn with a drizzle of  milk chocolate, and vice versa. 

Have a great Mardi Gras!