Dark Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn

A couple of weeks ago we picked up some chocolate drizzled kettle corn from Sprouts, and absolutely loved it! It was totally addictive, but also cost around $2.00 for a small bag. I figured I could recreate this sweet snack for a fraction of the cost. It takes a couple of steps, but makes a nice big bowl of salty sweet chocolatey goodness.

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

16 cups air popped popcorn

1/4 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup natural brown sugar
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp non dairy milk (soy works well)

Directions:

Pop your popcorn. Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees. Spray a large rectangle glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the margarine over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar, syrup, and salt. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and let it simmer until the sugar dissolves. Be sure to keep stirring it so that it doesn't burn on the bottom. Once the sugar is incorporated, take the mixture off the heat and add the vanilla and baking soda. Mix these in. It will lighten in color and puff up a bit from the baking soda.

Put half of the air popped popcorn in the prepared baking dish and pour the sugar mixture on top. Stir gently to coat the popcorn evenly.

Bake the popcorn for 45 - 60 minutes, and stir it every 15-20 minutes. It will come out crisp and sweet when it is done.

While half of the popcorn is baking, spread the other half of the popcorn over a non-stick surface (wax paper or a silicone mat work well). Take the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and add the 1-2 tbsp (just enough so it will melt, start with 1 and then add another if you find you need it after heating) of non-dairy milk in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds at a time and stir in between. Once they have melted and are smooth you pour the chocolate over the second half of popcorn. You can add a few sprinkles of salt at this point too. Let the chocolate drizzled popcorn cool while you are baking the kettle corn.

Once the kettle corn is done and cooled, combine the two types of popcorn and enjoy! It is an irresistible combination.