Recipe: Chef Jill's Valentine's Day Popcorn Snack

Chef Jill visits the folks over at WBTV “Morning Break” to make this tasty Valentine’s Day treat! Follow along and make at home this holiday.

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VALENTINES DAY POPCORN/SNACK

Chef Jill Aker-Ray

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup valentine m and m’s

  • 1 cup x and o pretzels

  • Valentine Sprinkles

  • 3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

  • ½ cup Popcorn Kernels (see note)

  • ¼ tsp Salt

  • 8 oz Bittersweet Chocolate (use chips or roughly chop bar chocolate) or mixture of white and dark chocolate

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Pour the oil into a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add three popcorn kernels to the oil and place the pan over medium-high heat (do not put the lid on the pot yet). When one kernel pops (the signal that the oil is hot enough), immediately pour the remaining kernels into the pan and put the lid on the pot. Take the pan off the heat for 30 seconds. (Literally, count to 30.)

  3. Put the pot back over the heat and sprinkle the kernels with salt. Hold the lid on the pot so that it is slightly ajar (you just want a small space to be open so that steam, but not popcorn can escape). Vigorously swirl the pan so that the oil evenly coats the kernels.

  4. With the pot over medium heat and the lid held slightly ajar, gently shake the pot every few seconds until nearly all of the kernels have popped and there is a 2 second break between “pops." Pour the popcorn on the prepared baking sheet.

  5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 10 seconds to prevent burning. When the chocolate is melted, pour it evenly over the popcorn. While the chocolate is still hot, scatter the candy, sprinkles and pretzels over the top. Leave the popcorn at room temperature until the chocolate completely cools and hardens, about 1 hour.

  6. Break the popcorn apart with your hands and transfer it to an air-tight container. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days (if it lasts that long!).

This recipe includes instructions for popping fresh popcorn on the stovetop, but any pre-popped variety of popcorn will work just fine. Share this treat that is perfect for snuggling with love ones to watch your favorite movie or to snack on. Crunchy, salty, chocolatey and minty!

RecipeKristen Baughmanpopcorn, snack, recipe