DIY 365: Gourmet Popcorn

For the first post of my DIY 365 challenge, I thought I'd share something we had last night for our New Year's Eve party. While waiting for midnight, we had a game night, and game night calls for munchies. In this case, we had Hot Cocoa Popcorn with orange kefir.

Gourmet popcorn is actually incredibly easy to make. Popped popcorn and flavorings. That's all it is!

I used my Presto PowerPop to pop the popcorn, using oil to give the flavoring something to stick to, but you can also pop it without oil.

If you don't have a PowerPop, you can try this method using a a microwave-safe bowl or this method using a paper bag.

There is literally no end to the options for flavoring. To get a sweet flavor, I used hot cocoa mix, in this case, I used Equal Exchange, which is fair trade and organic. Other options include Parmesan cheese and garlic powder, pumpkin or apple pie spice and sugar, instant cappuccino powder and sugar, barbecue seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or even just plain salt! You could also drizzle the popcorn with melted baking chips (chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon, peanut butter, cherry).

Here's the basic recipe:

Hot Cocoa Popcorn

Ingredients:
1/3 cup popping corn
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons hot cocoa mix
1 tablespoon sugar

Put oil in PowerPop, and add popping corn, or follow directions for your popcorn popper or recipe. Pop following directions. When popcorn is popped, pour into a very large bowl or large paper bag. Mix together hot cocoa mix and sugar. Add to popcorn and stir or shake to mix. This yields a slightly sweet popcorn, reminiscent of dark chocolate.

For other flavors, substitute for hot cocoa mix and sugar to taste. To drizzle, spread popped and flavored popcorn on baking sheets and drizzle with melted chips.

Enjoy!