It’s that time of year. That time of year when American office workers start suffering from sugar overload due to all the irresistible holiday treats parading around the office. It’s also the time of year when I start experiencing grass-is-greener complex about working from home. While it is true that working at home is totally awesome, my December has been pitifully devoid of holiday treats. My nonexistent co-workers aren’t presenting tins of peppermint bark and fudge at every corner. You lucky office people, you.
Yesterday, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make myself the kind of holiday treat that I’ve been craving. I made a big batch of my favorite light, salty snack (stovetop popcorn) and drizzled it with melted dark chocolate and crushed candy canes. Twenty minutes later, I had my peppermint-and-chocolate fix. I know that top photo makes it look really decadent, but keep in mind that I only drizzled the topside of the popcorn with chocolate. It’s not so rich that I feel sick to my stomach after a few bites. And it’s gluten-free, so I’ll be sharing my leftovers at girls’ night tonight.
You could go in a lot of different directions with this basic chocolate-drizzled popcorn concept. You could mix some lightly salted, roasted nuts in with the popcorn before drizzling it with chocolate. You could sprinkle it with coconut flakes or sprinkles instead of peppermint. You could trade white chocolate for the dark chocolate, or hey, drizzle it with both for a more decadent, classic peppermint bark approach. Just be careful when you’re melting the white chocolate, as it is more likely to scorch.
