This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Pop Secret, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #pop4Fantastic4 http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
I am a HUGE geek. AND I love movies. SO you have got to know that I ESPECIALLY love comic book movies and TV shows, Sci Fi and Fantasy. In fact my whole family loves them as much as I do, so you KNOW we were super excited to see Fantastic 4 this month! AND what goes better with movies than popcorn???
You know I love my themed foods too, so of COURSE I had to come up with four flavors of popcorn to represent each of the 4 and their unique abilities! Stretchy Caramel Popcorn for Mr. Fantastic, Simple and slightly sweet Kettle Corn for Invisible Woman, Fiery Red Hots candied popcorn for Human Torch and peanut butter Puppy Chow for Thing.
First up – THING! I wanted something rocky and brown. SO I went with a classic puppy chow recipe, BUT I didn’t want it to end up white, so I didn’t want to use straight powdered sugar. And I didn’t want to use brownie mix (like this black and white puppy chow) cause it ends up darker than I wanted. SO I decided to mix some powdered peanut butter with a little powdered sugar (in my food processor to break it up and mix it evenly) and I am thrilled with the color it ended up!
- 1 bag Pop Secret Homestyle Popcorn - popped
- 3/4 C chocolate chips
- 1/3 C peanut butter
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 C powdered sugar
- 1 C powdered peanut butter
- Microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter for 60 seconds, and stir until smooth
- add the vanilla and stir
- pour over the popped popcorn and carefully mix until it's well covered
- mix the powdered sugar and the powdered peanut butter (I used a food processor to really get them mixed well, but a fork will also do the job)
- Get a large bags (I use small, unused, garbage sacks) and sprinkle half the peanut butter/sugar mixture into the bottom
- Pour the popcorn right on top
- sprinkle the rest of the peanut butter/sugar mixture over the top
- Now comes the fun, close and shake the bags, a lot, until all the popcorn pieces are covered
- serve and enjoy!
Next up – HUMAN TORCH! I knew I wanted something red, and with a kick so I decided to go with candied popcorn made from cinnamon Red Hot Candies! PERFECT, with a nice crunch. To add to the texture and color variation to the candied popcorn I ground up some of the cinnamon candies to create a powder that we sprinkled over the top.
- 1 bag Pop Secret Homestyle Popcorn - popped
- 1/4 C butter
- 6 oz red cinnamon candies red hots
- 1/4 C granulated sugar
- 1/4 C light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 oz red cinnamon candies red hots
- Preheat oven to 270 F.
- Place the popcorn in an oven safe bowl
- Take the 2 oz of candies and grind them in your food processor (optional)
- Add the Butter, candies, sugar, corn syrup and salt to a small sauce pan with a candy thermometer
- On Medium/High melt the candies then bring the to a boil and keep boiling until the temperature reaches 270
- Remove from heat and carefully stir in baking soda.
- Working quickly, pour over popcorn stirring to coat.
- To help the mixture stay warm so you can get an even coat place the bowl into the oven, stirring every 5 mins 3-4 times
- Spread the popcorn out onto a pan and sprinkle with the ground candies
- Let the mixture cool, then break into pieces and serve
For Kettle corn I actually went with Pop Secret Kettle Corn. It’s seriously so good, It’s one of my top favorite snacks and was an obvious choice for Sue Storm – aka Invisible Woman. She’s slightly sweet, but not overly so, and the simpleness of the plain popcorn is perfect for representing invisibility.
And then my Caramel Popcorn recipe. It’s gooey and stretchy and perfect for Mr. Fantastic! We make this practically every week, less popcorn means more gooey, more popcorn means you can make it into popcorn balls. I tend to go with the more gooey route, I don’t mind a little mess and it’s seriously so delicious! A half batch is perfect for one bag of Homestyle popcorn, but I usually stick with a regular sized batch and just to two bags. Why try to half something when you can just enjoy more!
So Fantastic Four perfection! Sweet, crunchy, soft and gooey, all the perfect elements of a great popcorn bar, and perfect for family night!
Added Bonus! You can buy any 3 Pop Secret items between 7/31 – 8/31 and get a Free ticket to the Fantastic Four movie (up to $5) while supplies last! I go through so much Popcorn I think the Walmart workers know me by name! I got my free ticket already, grab yours today!
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Nikki @ Tikkido
The flavors you came up with are absolutely PERFECT for the characters! Being a geek is the best. Especially when it includes popcorn.
Ashlee
Thank you so much! Movie food is ALWAYS the best, and being a Geek rocks!
Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking and More
Ashlee!! These seriously look FANTASTIC (pardon the pun 😉 )!!
Love them all, but am partial to that Peanut Butter Popcorn Puppy Chow. You rocked it, girl!
Ashlee
hardy har har, your HILARIOUS! and yes the puppy chow was pretty great!