Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn


Five Little Chefs – Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn

Another blog we visited was Our Best Bites where we found Peanut Butter Popcorn. We have movie night on Fridays so popcorn is a big hit at our house! We made this recipe in two half batches because we do not have a bowl big enough to stir 20 cups of popcorn without getting it all over the counter. Though the Little Chefs would have loved to eat the jumpers!

We were all so excited to begin, all the Little Chefs were in the kitchen which not only makes it fun but chaotic which also means we make mistakes. Little Chefs A and D measured out the nuts.

 

Then they moved onto the chips. We decided to make it a little more chocolatey and used peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips (none of us have taken a liking to semisweet). The oil was then carefully measured and poured into the bowl. Little Chef A was ready to put it in the microwave when I thought I should check. I asked if they put the peanuts into the popcorn bowl or this black bowl. They said the black bowl. Oops! We made a mistake. We had to spoon out each of the nuts and transfer it to the popcorn bowl. This is why a seemingly simple and quick recipe does not turn out to be simple and quick with Little Chefs cooking!

Finally Little Chef A was ready a second time to put the bowl in the microwave to melt the chips. After making the “sauce” for the Orange Creamsicle Buddies she was very confident in her abilities.  She was still a little surprised when she took the bowl out for the second time and said, “It’s melting!” almost as if she did not believe it was really going to do what the recipe and I told her it would do.

The second time through the recipe (remember our bowl isn’t big enough to stir a whole batch) it was much quicker. Little Chef A knew what she was doing. She was moving around with confidence from one task to the next. She practiced stirring even faster to try to help melt the chips.
The melted chocolate/peanut butter mix was then poured on top of the popcorn and peanuts. It was a little difficult to mix it. At first it did not look like anything was happening, but I had to convince Little Chef A the more she mixes it the more the chocolate will coat the popcorn. She now understood why I suggested to half the recipe even when we used a bowl that could fit 20 cups of popcorn. She realized why the extra room in the bowl was necessary to keep the popcorn in the bowl during the stirring process.

Next it was time to melt the chocolate chips (we used milk chocolate) in the ziploc bag in the microwave. I  was afraid the bag was going to melt so I had her check on it more frequently. She had to squeeze the bag which she said, “It’s so gooey!” “I feel like I am touching gooey stuff. It is so wierd.” She was very excited to squeeze it all over the popcorn while using her artistic skills to make swirls and lines in every direction to make it look so gorgeous and yummy.

  This was a great confidence builder recipe. The steps were simple (eventhough we made a mistake). The ingredients are easy to work with. Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn is a great recipe for kids. Some kids can make this all by themselves.
Featured on Today’s Menu Round-up
Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn
Recipe by Our Best Bites
2 bags of Simply Salted (or similar) popcorn (or about 20 cups of popped popcorn)
2 c. honey roasted peanuts
3 c. peanut butter chips (I used Reese’s)*
2/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips *
1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or oil
*I LOVED this suggestion from one of our readers. If you want more chocolatey flavor in your popcorn, substitute 1 c. of the peanut butter chips with 1 c. of chocolate chips and then still drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn at the end.

Place the peanuts popped popcorn in a very large bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the peanut butter chips and vegetable oil or shortening and heat for 2-2 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Drizzle the melted peanut butter chips over the popcorn and peanuts and toss to combine.

Spread the popcorn onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. In a Ziploc bag, heat the semi-sweet chocolate chips until just melted and smooth (about 1-1 1/2 minutes, mashing the bag every 20-30 seconds). Cut a small corner in the Ziploc bag and drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn. Allow to stand long enough to become solid (you can transfer the pan to the fridge or freezer to hurry this step along). When done, break the popcorn into small pieces and enjoy!

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9 Replies to "Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn"

  • comment-avatar
    Chrystal - Adorn on a Shoestring March 21, 2012 (10:38 am)

    Hi, I just found your site through Blue Cricket Design blog hop, and am so glad I did! This recipe is not going to be very helpful towards my weight loss goals, but my family will definitely be trying it!! We have 5 kids who also love to cook, and I will be sharing your blog with them, as well.

    Your newest follower,
    Chrystal
    http://www.adornonashoestring.com

  • comment-avatar
    Five Little Chefs March 21, 2012 (4:40 pm)

    I'm glad you found us! I'm sure you have just as much fun as I do cooking with my Little Chefs.

  • comment-avatar
    Natural-Nesters March 22, 2012 (12:08 am)

    UMMMM!! Yes, please! This looks awesome. My son would love it- as would I. We would love to have you link up with us at our Naturally-Nifty Linky Party!!!

    http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/03/yay-naturally-nifty-linky-party-is-up.html

  • comment-avatar
    Melanie @ bear rabbit bear March 23, 2012 (9:02 am)

    Yummy Yummy!!! This looks awesome- Stopping by from the live laugh rowe blog hop. Nice blog and love this post! Following via GFC- hope to see you around http://www.bearrabbitbear.com soon!

  • comment-avatar
    The Cookinglady March 25, 2012 (7:20 am)

    What a interesting recipe for popcorn. I always love comeing to your blog to see what the little chefs are coming up with next.

  • comment-avatar
    Lady Behind The Curtain March 27, 2012 (11:12 am)

    CONGRATULATIONS!!! Your recipe is featured on Today's Recipe Round Up #3 from Cast Party Wednesday Link Party #33. THANK YOU for sharing your recipe with us! —Sheryl—
    http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/?p=26838

  • comment-avatar
    Bridget Hedger March 28, 2012 (4:59 pm)

    Mmm, can you send some of this my way please? I wish it was vegan! 🙂 Although I'm not 100 percent vegan I'd like to be..I found this over at lady behind the curtain, I'd love it if you checked out my grilled pizza she featured as well! I might just have to make some of this for hubby and I thanks for sharing!

  • comment-avatar
    Five Little Chefs March 28, 2012 (8:16 pm)

    I have been wanting to learn how to make grilled pizza. I'm off to check that out!

  • comment-avatar
    Five Little Chefs March 28, 2012 (8:27 pm)

    Yea! Thank you so much Sheryl! My Little Chefs are super excited!!!