Snickers Candy Popcorn for Sweet Tailgate Snacking

Watching football is fun. Watching football with people you care about is even more fun. Watching football with people you care about especially when the chips are down and you’ve made play by play bets against each other…unbeatable. And speaking of chips being down, it's always important to know what snacks are best when watching 22 tiny men fight over pig skin.

The obvious staple is the chip. You can’t have a group viewing of a game without the chip. But a chip can only go so far. I mean, it’s a chip. Its name is synonymous with “a fraction.” A potato chip is a chip off of a potato – like chipping off a piece of a rock. Back in the day when people first started watching football, it didn’t sound good when the boys of Harvard called to one another and said, “Would you mind ever so much handing me the potato fractions?”  That’s why the folks at not-so-nerdy schools changed it to chips, which was much more colloquial.

Now the chip, as fantastic as it is, can only go so far. Sure, you can eat it or you can dip it. But the only other thing you can do with it is hide bits of it in the corner of your couch for fun if you feel like getting in a fight with your wife later. So how do we take game day snacking up a notch?

Grab a Snickers! Or in our case, Snickers candy popcorn.

Yield: 6 servings

Snickers Candy Popcorn

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Grab a Snickers! Or in our case, Snickers candy popcorn.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 regular-size package popcorn, (makes 4 cups, popped)
• 1 package Snickers Bites, (7 oz)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 4 oz 70% chocolate
• Candy thermometer

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a Pyrex pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.
2. Place the popcorn and Snickers Bites into a large high temperature bowl (not plastic) and toss to combine.
3. Mix the sugar, butter and honey together in a saucepan over medium heat. Once combined, insert a candy thermometer and continue cooking (not stirring) approximately 3 minutes until it reaches 238 degrees F (114 C).
4. Remove from heat and immediately and add baking soda, stirring vigorously until it foams.
5. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and Snickers bites.
6. Shred chocolate and melt in microwave on medium-high heat for approximately 2 minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals. Drizzle over popcorn.
7. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 313Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 162mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 38gProtein: 2g

Everyone pretty much thinks Snickers are irresistible. And who doesn't like popcorn? If you seriously just raised your hand, you are on the WRONG blog right now.

We take game day up a notch with this amazing Snickers Candy Popcorn. Chelsea and I used to chop Snickers up to include in this recipe, but it's way easier now thanks to those little bites that all the candy companies are making. No unwrapping, no chopping. Mini deliciousness in a perfect portion size for snacking or baking.

If you're looking at the recipe and getting totally freaked out by the candy thermometer, don't. It is exactly as easy as the recipe makes it sound. You can't go wrong. Even if you overcook it or undercook it a little, your candy popcorn will just wind up a little gooey or extra crunchy. You can also add peanuts to really enhance the Snickers taste.

What are your favorite game day snacks?