Sweetly Salty Snack

Let me start by saying Happy Birthday Dad! I find it funny that my Dad shares his birthday with National Popcorn Day. My Dad loves his popcorn. Every year for Christmas I get him a big tin of popcorn – it’s my traditional gift to him. Even this year, with our White Elephant Gift Exchange, I still gave Pops his favorite snack.

I don’t know how things are in your part of the world, but here movie theaters have been closed since mid-March. In some places, Drive-In Theaters have been reopened. Unfortunately for us, the closest Drive-In Theaters still in operation are more than 60 miles away. I will admit, we didn’t go to the movie theater often. In our opinion, the only movies truly worth the effort of the big screen were the I-Max productions. By the time you had bought the tickets, and the drinks and the snack foods, you’ve spent as much as a night on the town. Still, I miss holding hands with Hubby and sharing a big bucket of oily popcorn. At home, kiddo and I like to zap a bag of M&M’s for about 30 seconds to melt the chocolate, then dump them into a bowl of buttery popcorn. A little sweet, a little salty. These awesome popcorn balls take that sweetly salty goodness to a whole new level. Perfect for National Popcorn Day.

Sweetly Salty Popcorn Balls
1 (3 oz) bag Microwave Popcorn
1 cup snack Pretzels
1/4 cup Butter
1 (10 oz) bag Small Marshmallows
1 cup M&M’s
1/2 cup mini Chocolate Chips

Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment or waxed paper. Set aside.

Pop popcorn according to package directions. Open bag of popcorn, dump out on another rimmed sheet pan. Spread out in a single layer. Remove any un-popped kernels. Set aside to cool.

Break pretzels into pieces, set aside.

In a large pot, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows, and cook, stirring regularly, until melted. Add popcorn and pretzel pieces, and stir in to combine.

Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop out popcorn mixture. With hands lightly sprayed with nonstick spray, shape into balls. Press M&M’s and mini chocolate chips into the outside of the popcorn ball.

Place balls on the paper-lined pan. Let cool to room temperature before serving.