In my teens I loved go to the movies with my (then) new friend Pam (now old friend). We both loved the movie theater popcorn and we both loved peanut and plain m&m’s – and we usually got it all and shared. One day as we sat down, Pam turned to me, giggled and dumped the extra large packs of plain and peanut m&m’s into our humongous popcorn bucket! Well…DELICIOUS. The salty buttery popcorn mixed with the chocolate – oh my. Seriously. About 15 years later, when I was pregnant with Andy, I craved this concoction – so I made some popcorn and poured some chocolate chips into it. They kind of melted and I salted them and oh, sold and forever addicted. Over the years, I fiddle. Today I made a milk chocolate popcorn (my favorite) – and one with mini m&m’s. I also made a semi-sweet chocolate popcorn – one with peanuts and one with out. Ideas are endless…you can melt and drizzle as I did or you can pour chunks into the warm popcorn. You can add Raisinets to the melted chocolate or scatter Snow Caps on top. Quite a movie treat! Or an any-day treat. Greg and his friend John sat down to two bowls of it and were in heaven. Andy is eating his now, and Sylvie and I keep munching away. Melissa said…”yummy and so good.” And Ali was thrilled to find chocolate in her popcorn. Sadly Rob said, “not my thing.” Oh well, not for everyone I suppose. There is no exact recipe but I’ll try let you know what I did and you can use as a guide with your own taste. Enjoy this. I REALLY do.
If you are looking for the best presentation, then temper the chocolate. It will set faster, and for longer and have a prettier sheen. I eat this up so fast I skipped it. And I don’t mind if it is a little sticky or wet 🙂 – up to you.
chocolate popcorn:
popped popcorn (preferably with a little oil)
melted butter (unsalted) – optional
melted milk and/or semi-sweet chocolate
mini m&m’s (optional)
peanuts (optional)
kosher salt to taste
Make popcorn. I really love my Whirly Pop popcorn maker. I was able to use just 2 teaspoons of oil for about 3/4 cup kernels (why I’m worried about the oil is beyond me since I’m slathering with chocolate!) I suppose you can make in an air popper but I do think that a little bit of oil goes a long way with popcorn. I really do.
Spread popcorn onto a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil. Melt and drizzle very very lightly with melted butter if you choose. I did, just a little. But really this is also very good with out butter (especially if you used oil in popping). Lightly lightly salt the popcorn with kosher salt (You will salt again).
Melt chocolate in a metal bowl over a bit of barely simmering water (or double boiler). Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the popcorn. (Use as much as you like. You can use a light touch or a heavy hand. I go heavy but no surprise!)
If using m&m’s or peanuts, scatter them on top of the drizzled chocolate. Lightly salt the popcorn with the chocolate (again). The salt is sooo good with the chocolate. Don’t skip! (Save the extra chocolate for another use — if you have extra!)
Take a spoon, and gently mix the popcorn – or just leave as it is. Again, up to you. You can transfer to a big bowl if it is easier for you to mix. Let the popcorn sit and the chocolate will harden (although it is good wet!) Set by an open window to speed up the process if you are eager.
Turn on the movie (or not), sit down, relax, eat and enjoy!!