Treats, Yo

Then let me tell you about this fantastic treat that I've been making for years. It includes all of the above. My mom started making this when I was a kid, but hers only included popcorn and chocolate. I've decided to get crazy and hit up the pretzels and Craisins. (Look out!)

This is pretty much the easiest treat you could ever make. It's fail-proof (unless you struggle with melting chocolate.)

Gather your ingredients: popcorn, chocolate, pretzels and dried cranberries then foil up a couple cookie sheets. Pop yo pop corn and spread a single layer out on the cookie sheet. Then, melt your chocolate. This can be tricky. Follow the directions on the package! I almost always use those candy coating discs from the craft store, or almond bark from the grocery store, but this time I decided to try melting down some Ghirardelli chips. Luckily, they lent themselves to melting nicely.

Sorry Ocean Spray, I didn't mean to name those store brand cranberries Craisins. Don't hurt me!

Now it's time to drizzle that shiz. If your chocolate doesn't want to drizzle nicely, you can add a little Crisco to thin it out. I use Crisco in my chocolate every time. It prevents lumpiness and chunkiness and, I think, helps it look nicer. My favorite drizzling tool is a spork, but you can use whatever you prefer. A spoon will generally do the trick, but hey, whatever you want.

Once you've drizzled to your little hearts content, it's time to add the pretzels and cranberries (and really, anything else you'd like!)

Then, to make sure all those li'l goodies stay in place, drizzle more chocolate!

Now that your first batch is appropriately drizzled to your satisfaction, it's time to put it in the freezer to set.

Don't disturb your alcohol if you don't have to. 

After a few minutes, it's set! Once the chocolate has hardened, it can be broken up into smaller pieces and put in whatever container you prefer. This batch was for a hostess gift, so I crammed it in a pretty jar that I found at Homegoods for six dollars.

It can also be done in layers in a deeper container. When I'm just making a large batch to break up and share in a bowl, I'll make this in a cake pan and layer it all the way to the top: popcorn, chocolate, fun stuff, chocolate, popcorn, chocolate, fun stuff, chocolate, etc., etc.

Like I've already mentioned, this treat is super easy to customize.The glass above is filled with chocolate drizzled peanuts and cashews. If you want more chocolate on your nuts (hehe nuts), instead of drizzling, you can just dump your nuts (hehe nuts) into the chocolate then spread it out on your foil. After it's set, it can be broken up like peanut brittle.

Have you made anything like this? What's your favorite holiday treat to make and share?