S’mores Popcorn

What are you going to do when four 1st grade girls are about to take over your house for an epic play date? You want to give them a fun snack to eat in between Beanie Boo sharing and giggling but you don’t want it to be coated in sugar – perhaps only mildly sugar-laden.

Our solution for such a sweet dilemma: S’mores Popcorn.

It’s sweet, but not too much so, salty and delightfully reminiscent of that campfire favorite. In fact if you happen you have smoked salt on hand use that here. I wish I would have thought of that during one the many times I’ve made this popcorn. Next time.

I use a bit of restraint here but if you prefer I don’t see why you couldn’t double the quantity of butter and marshmallows – making it teeter more towards dessert than play date snack.  Feel free to adjust any of the quantities to your taste. This recipe is very forgiving particularly where the chocolate and salt are involved.

 

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S'mores Popcorn

Prep

Total

Yield 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup mini marshmallows

salt

1 - 2 ounces dark chocolate

Instructions

Pop the popcorn into a very large bowl.

Simmer the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the color changes and it smells nutty. Turn off the heat then stir in the marshmallows. Turn the heat back on if the marshmallows need a bit more of a nudge to melt and blend with the butter.

Carefully pour the butter mixture over the popcorn and then add the graham crumbs. Stir this mixture (carefully as the butter is extremely hot) add a couple of good pinches of sea salt as you stir. Finally grate the chocolate over top. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Courses Snack

 

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Whole Grain Cocoa Cereal

 

Gabe and I used to fantasize about the day when our kids could get out of bed and help themselves to breakfast. We thought of this as a major milestone in our parenting career and had visions of us lingering in bed with coffee in one hand and the paper in the other. Parents with babies in tow take note; someday this day will arrive and it will be every bit as wonderful as you can imagine.

Weekday mornings don’t allow for much lingering on our part. There are lunches to pack, school bags to get in order, dishes from last night’s party to tend to, and the most important thing – coffee to be made. To help avoid too much chaos (some is just unavoidable) we keep breakfast during the week very simple. Most often it’s cereal. I’ll admit it. But when I have life somewhat in order cereal comes in the form of whole grain puffs lightly sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with cocoa powder. I like to tuck in all sorts of puffed grains and by the time they are coated in a deeply colored cocoa syrup the kids really have no idea what they are getting into. Their most important task during breakfast – turn their milk into chocolate milk, which this cereal does so beautifully. There are enough whole grains from the cereal, plus we pair it with an 8 ounce glass of milk for an additional 8 grams of high-quality protein to help my munchkins start the day and give them energy to deal with math class before the lunch bell rings.

My favorite part? I can make a huge batch, relatively quickly so they have breakfast they can serve themselves all throughout the week.

 

*This post is sponsored by Milk Life. As always, the words, recipe, and images are my own. Thanks for supporting that brands that support me in doing the work I love.

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Whole Grain Cocoa Cereal

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted

14 cups puffed cereal

1 cup puffed quinoa

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)

Add ins:

Coconut flakes

Nuts

Oatmeal

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 300° F

In a small saucepan combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, and cocoa powder. Stir well and bring to a simmer.

In a large bowl combine the puffed cereal, quinoa, sesame seeds, and any other add ins you may like.

Add the cocoa mixture to the puffed cereals and stir well to coat. Transfer this to a large sheet tray (or two) lined with parchment. Bake for 20 minutes stirring halfway through.

Let the cereal cool before storing in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

Pair with an 8 ounce glass of milk.

 

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