Brownie Brittle Popcorn

Let me start with a question: Have you all tried Brownie Brittle? It has all the chocolate flavor of brownies but the texture is like only the crunchy edges of the brownies, not the soft gooey centers. It's a combination of a chip and a brownie, if that makes any sense at all.

The first time I tried Brownie Brittle, I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed. I'm a huge fan of slightly under-baked brownies that have a super-soft, chewy center.

But I will admit that Brownie Brittle grew on me big time. I could not stop opening the bag for "just one more bite." It's majorly addicting, but due to its light and crispy texture, you can enjoy it with less guilt than a thick, dense brownie. It's only natural that I would combine it with popcorn.

As always, I have a specific method to my madness when I make sweet-flavored popcorn recipes. First and foremost – REMOVE THE UNPOPPED KERNELS. Once they're covered in chocolate, they become undetectable until you crunch down on them. I pop my popcorn into a huge bowl, and then I give it a shake to help these un-popped kernels settle to the bottom of the bowl. Then I take out all the fully popped kernels and place them on a baking sheet. You'll be using it later, so you don't have to worry about dirtying it. Once they're all removed, you're left with the un-popped or partially popped kernels. Toss those in the trash and return the popped kernels to the bowl. Sounds tedious but it only takes about a minute.

Another thing I like to do when I make popcorn is to use a mixture of large pieces of whatever I'm mixing in (in this case, Brownie Brittle) along with a crushed version of the mix in. Crushing the Brownie Brittle ensures that each bite will have that recognizable brownie flavor. Leaving some pieces whole gives you strong pops of that flavor and texture, but it also helps the person who is eating the popcorn know exactly what they are eating. I used the same technique with my Cinnamon Toast Crunch popcorn.

I added sprinkles because this popcorn was looking a little BROWN and boring – but it's totally optional. Totally recommended, but optional nonetheless. (If you like colorful popcorn, you might also enjoy Nerds popcorn!)

If chocolate isn't your thing but you still love popcorn, make sure to check out my peanut butter and honey popcorn.

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Brownie Brittle Popcorn Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, i use the mushroom variety
• 1 16 ounce package chocolate candy melts
• 2 cups brownie brittle, broken into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup crushed brownie brittle, sand consistency
• sprinkles, for color, optional

Directions

1. Pop corn using a hot air popper. Pick out any un-popped kernels (slightly time consuming but very important!!!).
2. To the popped popcorn, add the broken up Brownie Brittle (not the crushed Brownie Brittle).
3. Pour melted candy coating over the popcorn mixture and stir until everything is well coated.
4. While the candy coating is still wet, pour over the crushed Brownie Brittle and stir to combine.
5. Spread onto a large sheet pan and if desired, add sprinkles. Leave out and allow candy coating to harden before serving immediately or storing in an airtight container for 3-4 days. 

Notes

• I used the chocolate chip variety of Brownie Brittle.
• I used about 2/3 to 3/4 of 16 ounce bag of Brownie Brittle.

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Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

It's that time of year when gardens are starting to be overrun with squash and zucchinis. Oh, but not my garden because you see, I have a black thumb and pretty much kill any green living thing I try to grow. We have tried planting a small garden over the past years, and it has never worked out so well for us… or the plants. There is this thing called watering that has to happen for plants to live, and I tend to forget about doing that on a regular basis.

So, when I get a craving for chocolate chip zucchini bread, I head to the grocery store or the farmer's market. There is a reason these places exist, so I do my part in keeping them going by spending my money there and not on plants that are just going to die.

Since my kiddos are big muffin eaters for breakfast, I knew that I wanted to make chocolate zucchini muffins. A few years ago I made these chocolate zucchini donuts, so I used that recipe as my base for these delicious muffins.

If my kids knew I was trying to get them to eat zucchini, there might be a mini revolt in our home. So, I avoided this outrage by hiding the green veggie under chocolate and toffee. Imagine their surprise when I started laughing when these muffins were gone. Ok, so they kind of looked at me like I was a weirdo, but oh, well because I got them to eat zucchini and like it.

These double chocolate zucchini muffins are really quite simple to make. You mix all the wet ingredients and sugar in a bowl, and then slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter into muffin liners and top with some extra chocolate chips to make them pretty.

These are really good hot and fresh from the oven, but they taste even better the next day. Something about sitting in a closed container makes them so irresistible. We won't talk about how many I may have eaten with my coffee.

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Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, packed
• 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1 cup toffee bits
• 1 1/4 cups mini chocolate chips, divided

Directions

1. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, zucchini, yogurt, and buttermilk and mix until combined.
2. Sift together the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, flour, and cocoa powder and slowly add to the wet mixture until a thick batter forms.
3. Stir in the toffee bits and 1 cup mini chocolate chips. Spoon the batter evenly into 20 muffin liners. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the extra chocolate chips.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Do not over bake. Remove from the muffin tins and let cool. Store the cooled muffins in a sealed container on the counter.

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