Cookies and Cream Popcorn

I love making funky popcorns. I have actually made one since this bacon caramel corn
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and this Cranberry Pecan Caramel Corn
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but it wasn’t quite up to snuff so I didn’t blog it. It was birthday popcorn and it needs a bit of tweaking. I thought of cookies n’ cream popcorn for Ms. L’s bday. It was super easy (and turned out super sweet).

Ingredients:

2 cups air popped popcorn
1 cup white chocolate chips
12 oreos
2 tbs butter

Directions:

Pop the popcorn and crush the oreos (they don’t have to be uniformly crushed)
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In a double boiler, melt the chips and butter. Stirring regularly.
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Mix popcorn and crushed oreos together.
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Add melted white chocolate mixture together with the popcorn and oreos.
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Spread onto parchment paper or silicone lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes.
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It was super sweet. Maybe too sweet? I’m not a white chocolate person so that could have something to do with it as well. Next up is some-sort of savory popcorn. Hmmm. I’ll have to get on that one 😉

Bacon Caramel Corn

Last time I made caramel corn I was really impressed, this time it was a bit off. The idea was on, but I’ve included some tweaks and will give it another go. I used a bit too little caramel for so much popcorn so I’ve upped the liquid quantities below.

Ingredients:

3 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup salted cashews
4 slices of thick cut bacon cooked, and chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
3 tbs maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
In a large bowl mix the popped popcorn, nuts, and bacon.
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Over medium heat stir the butter, brown sugar, and honey until butter melts. Stir in syrup. Bring to boiling over medium heat. Boil at a moderate, steady rate for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam up).
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Pour the liquid mixture over the popcorn mixture in bowl; stir to coat well.
Transfer to a large baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let it cool. If you want clusters leave it; if you want bite sized pieces then spread it out to cool.

The maple + caramel + smokey bacon was great. I liked the flavors but think too little caramel left too many pieces barely covered so it was a bit too sticky and soggy.
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Sweet & Salty 10 Minute Snack

I’m pretty jazzed about these chocolate covered pretzels and just had to show you! Also, doesn’t everything look better as an instagram?!

pretzels

These were somewhat unplanned, but I love pretzel rods and used some ebelskiver fillings I had hanging around. The red are peppermint chips, the white & brown are crunchies meant for topping ice cream, and the tan is heath bits.

I didn’t know how to coordinate dipping these so I just spread the melted chocolate on with a spatula. I rolled the chocolate pretzels into the toppings on my counter and that worked really well. The chocolate didn’t seize up and the toppings stuck really well without much wasted. Hooray!

They’ll be devoured at this weekend’s housewarming party and chances are, it’ll take me a while to post the rest of our goodies since I have a bazillion other posts coming up so hopefully this will tide ya over!

Superbowl BBQ Peanuts

In my moving maddness right before the holidays, I came home to a package and was surprised to find a gift! Mrs. K is totally supportive of The Three Bite Rule and saw the Hunting and Fishing cookbook thinking of my love of cooking and Mr. J’s hunting and fishing trips…not that he’s caught/shot anything for me to cook (just yet).
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I thumbed through and was impressed. I thought there were a bunch of fun recipes and the photographs are lovely as well. Most recipes use pretty standard ingredients which is nice. I saw the snack section and picked an easy BBQ peanut recipe to try. The breakfasts look awesome too. Mr. J will have to check out the venison section for the deer meat his brother hunted.
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Ingredients:

1/3 cup barbecue sauce
2 tbs butter, melted
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
16 oz dry roasted peanuts

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine barbecue sauce, butter, garlic powder, and cayenne.
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Add peanuts; stir until evenly coated.
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Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in x 2-in. baking pan.
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Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Spread on waxed paper; cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
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I thought these were great! They are so easy and will disappear quickly. They’d make a fun superbowl snack or hostess gift. I had cashews and mixed nuts so I decided not to go out and buy peanuts. I used the mixed nuts and they worked just fine.

Thanks Mrs. K! There will be more meals to come from here! Now, if Mr. J would just catch me some salmon!

Grown Up Caramel Corn

A few folks got edible gifts from me this year. Everybody always says they have too much “stuff” so I was hoping they would enjoy a treat that would be gone and they wouldn’t be trying to find a spot for it in their house.

I spotted a caramel corn online and thought it sounded really good and I thought it sounded like a snack with some class. This one featured crazins, orange, and pecans. I improvised a bit. I was impressed with the outcome! I didn’t quite envision the popcorn to come out crunchy without being sticky and soggy but it did!

Cranberry Pecan Caramel Corn (adapted from The Novice Chef)

Ingredients:

2 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 tbs jelly (I used apple)
1 teaspoon vanilla1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
In a large bowl mix the popped popcorn, cranberries, and pecans.

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Over medium heat stir the butter, brown sugar, and honey until butter melts. Stir in jelly. Bring to boiling over medium heat. Boil at a moderate, steady rate for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam up).
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Pour the syrup mixture over the popcorn mixture in bowl; stir to coat well.
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Transfer to a large baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool. If you want clusters leave it; if you want bite sized pieces then spread it out to cool.
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