Fellow Sweet Tooths Unite!

By: Jenn K

Every so often, I come across a recipe online for a delicious dish and feel totally inspired. Armed with an “I can do that!” attitude, I bookmark the link or save the post. I also take a screenshot of the ingredients list so I know exactly how much to purchase. It’s important, but not necessary, that the recipe include a majority of ingredients already somewhere in the kitchen or my dad’s garden. Makes for a quick trip to the grocery store, unless I come across people (never just one person) whom I haven’t seen in hours, days, months, or years. Love it when that happens.

The majority of my inspirations are found on social media, particularly Instagram. The photos are often stunning and the tutorials portray the dish as being really easy to make.

Like the TipBuzz recipe for a popcorn and candy treat. It’s a popcorn ball, except in bundt form. The fun video they posted actually spoke to me with its ingredients – every single one of them I adore – including popcorn, marshmallows, BUTTER, M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, Milk Duds, Butterfinger, Cracker Jack, and Rasinettes.

The ingredients, minus one stick of butter.

Except for the Milk Duds and Butterfinger, each package of candy measured out to the required 1/2 cup. Just one bar of Butterfinger needed to be chopped. The remainder of the Milk Duds were a delicious snack for later.

One 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows mixed with melted stick of butter to create a delectable binder.

The 6 to 8 cups of popcorn required for the recipe measured out to about two popped bags. I used plain, natural flavored but you can be bold and use the movie theater butter kind. I won’t judge.

Combine then stir in the slightly cooled marshmallow mixture. This was tricky for me. To avoid melting all of the chocolate, I waited a little longer than necessary to pour in the mixture.

Fill a bundt pan with the candy & popcorn mixture. It’s not necessary to use a bundt, but I wanted to follow the Buzzfeed recipe as closely as possible.

As we all know, greasing the pan (I used Pam) helps for a successful shape in the end.

I decided to make popcorn clusters for Cullen’s bowling team after unsuccessfully cutting up the bundt. Translated as “butchered”. Mom helped. Translated as “fixed” .

Everyone seemed to enjoy the treat and shared only positive reviews. I felt relieved, as I worried it would be way too sweet and sticky to consume. The variations of this recipe are endless and I’ll certainly make it again, using different candies. Maybe even leaving out the Crunch N Munch. It’s much better on its own. 😉