The other night Sy and I were up late watching something or another and we decided it was snack time. We’ve both become obsessed with the Zebra flavored crack from Popcornopolis but there was not a bag to be found in the house. We discovered this wondrous stuff at Old Navy (not a place I think of for buying food) in the fall and then bought it again at Staples recently for about a dollar less. Neither of them are open at midnight and besides, we already had pj’s on. What to do? Head for the pantry!
We found a bag of caramel corn from Trader Joe’s, a big block of Hershey’s and some dark chocolate chips leftover from I don’t know when.
Sy melted the chocolates in separate bowls in the microwave while I spread the caramel corn on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (wax paper would probably work too). We thought we might have to thin the chocolate a bit (and you might, depending on what brand/kind of chocolate you’re using, the phases of the moon and other mysterious chocolate related issues) so I pulled out the heavy cream as well.
The chocolate was liquid enough to drizzle just fine straight out of the microwave. I did the milk chocolate one direction.
And the dark the other just to be fancy.
Sy ended up eating his in a bowl after mixing it a bit. He originally wanted to toss the entire batch but I was looking to replicate the Popcornopolis experience as much as possible. I ended up eating mine straight off the cookie sheet with a spoon because I couldn’t wait for it to cool off much beyond the napalm stage. By the time I was done snacking the chocolate was starting to harden.
There was a bit left at the end of the evening so I set the cookie sheet aside and let it harden completely. It took a little under two hours but it’s pretty chilly here and the relative humidity is low. Warmer and wetter and it’ll take longer. I put it in an air tight container and tried it the next day. I thought it was better then the store bought. No more sneaking it into the cart and hoping the kids don’t see it! The semi-homemade wasn’t as sweet as the original and I liked the flavor of the real chocolate as opposed to confectioners chocolate.
I wouldn’t mind adding in a layer of white chocolate next time though.
Maybe I should try making it completely from scratch? Start with brown sugar, butter, and popcorn kernels.
Making it up ahead of time so it can cool and harden properly isn’t a bad idea either.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
