As a kid, I loved Dairy Queen Blizzards (and their low fat sibling, the Breeze) There’s something so wonderful about blending your favorite things together. As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, I have a tendency to do this with a lot of things (see crack brownies) and now with this — Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Popcorn. Popcorn, like rice krispie treats, will gladly take on the flavor of whatever you mix it with while adding its crunchy texture and shape. In this case, I combined it with peanut butter, chocolate, brownie mix and peanut butter cups. I made this intending to give it to family at Sunday’s Easter brunch but I, shamefully, am not sure there will be any left to giveaway… Here’s how it’s made:
Ingredients
+ 6 cups popcorn (popped)
+ 1.25 c. dark chocolate chips
+ 1.25 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
+ 1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
+ 3/4 c. brownie mix
+ 1 10 oz. bag of mini peanut butter cups (unwrapped)
Pop the popcorn using your preferred method. I have an old stove top whirly bird that I use but you could just as easily use your favorite microwave popcorn. Place the popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.
Combine the chocolate chips in a microwave proof bowl and melt in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. This should take about 2-3 minutes to melt. Do not overheat it, make sure you heat only until it is melted and smooth. Then add the peanut butter and stir until combined. You may have to microwave it for a few seconds to get it to melt (no more than 15 seconds).
Then 1/4 c. at a time, add the dry brownie mix. The key to this is that you want the chocolate to get thick but not gritty, you want it to remain smooth so you may not need the full 3/4c, use your judgement here.
Once mixed, quickly pour the chocolate over the popcorn and add the peanut butter cups. Using a set of tongs, toss everything together until the popcorn is coated.
Pour the popcorn out onto two sheet pans/cookie sheets and allow to cool until the chocolate hardens. I put it in the fridge for an hour or so. You want to wait until it is fully hardened before serving (if you can).
There you have it. The possibilities are endless here and if I do run out, I’m tempted to make a caramel corn with rolo batch for my family instead. Enjoy!
–kw
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