Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Chocolate Covered Peppermint Popcorn

Chocolate covered popcorn is a great host or hostess gift for all the holiday parties going on this time of year. The only problem is that it is outrageously expensive to buy in store. Luckily for us, it is incredibly simple and easy to make, and really quick too. My second time making it took me just 20 minutes from walking through the door to a tray of delicious popcorn.

The directions I include are for making stove-top popcorn. If you have a popcorn popper, or another method you like better, please do whatever is most comfortable for you, this is just the method I like best since I don't have to store a unitasker and can just use the pots and pans I own.


2 T oil
⅓ C popcorn kernels
1 C dark candy making chocolate
¼ C peppermints, crushed


Popping the popcorn:

In your widest pan with a lid, pour in the oil and add a couple kernels of popcorn. When those kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn and place on the lid, making sure to keep it slightly ajar so the steam doesn't make the popcorn soggy. Shake the pan gently to make sure all of the kernels get coated with oil. Once the popcorn starts popping, make sure to shake the pan occasionally so that the unpopped kernels get even heat.

When the popping slows to 2 or 3 seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, but don't take the lid off until the popping stops entirely or you will be picking up a shower of popcorn from the kitchen floor. Once the popping has stopped, pour the popcorn onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper, parchment paper, or my favorite, a silicone baking mat. Make sure to get the popcorn into 1 layer. Lightly salt the popcorn and then let it cool while you melt the chocolate.

Chocolate and peppermint:

Put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 15 second intervals, stirring very thoroughly each time, until nice and liquid, about 90 degrees. With a spoon, drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn, making sure to get a bit on every piece. Before the chocolate cools, sprinkle on the crushed peppermints. Let the chocolate cool (I stick mine in the freezer to speed this up) and then break the popcorn pieces apart and store in airtight containment, or just eat it right away!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Cranberry Mulled Cider

Well it's the holiday season, which means everyone is adding cranberry to things, and I am no exception! I started seeing cranberry apple cider for sale recently and decided to make my own. I poked around on the internet looking for a recipe for a while, trying to find one that wasn't simply dumping a bunch of cranberry juice (which is mostly apple juice anyway) into apple cider. I had bought all these cranberries in preparation and by golly I was going to use them! After searching my kitchen for some other flavor enhancers, I came up with this parts list:


½ gallon of apple cider
1 12 oz (by weight) package of cranberries
Zest of 1 lime
1 clementine or naval orange
1 sweet apple, sliced (I recommend a snapdragon)
5-6 star anise pods
3-4 short cinnamon sticks (about 3 inches)


Pour the cider into your slow cooker and set on low.

Add the cranberries, making sure to rinse them first, and the zest of 1 lime. I used a standard vegetable peeler to simply peel the zest off, making sure to avoid the white pith underneath as much as possible, but using a fine grater will work just as well (it just doesn't make as pretty a picture).

Peel 1 clementine and add the sections. I made sure to slightly break them so that there would be good flavor extraction. Feel free to simply cut up a clementine, but if you don't peel it, you will get more citrus from the rind so be sure to shorten your cook time. I used a clementine instead of a naval orange because they are in season right now, and there are a lot of strong flavors in this cider and it could use the sweetness of the clementine. If you're making this when clementines aren't in season, a naval orange will work just fine.

Add the sliced apple, star anise pods, and cinnamon, stir to combine, and let it cook on low for about 2 hrs. Serve and enjoy!

A note about cooking time: because cranberry is such a strong flavor, I recommend you start tasting the cider about 1.5 hrs in to make sure you haven't over-extracted. Make sure you stir it gently before tasting it because the flavors have a tendency to separate into layers since cinnamon sinks and cranberries float. If you find that you have over-extracted, don't panic, just add a bit of salt. Salt helps block bitter flavor receptors on the tongue. I've also simply added some more cider to help mellow a bitter quaff.