Dessert Popcorn

In the course of my popcorn experimenting, I've tried a few versions of what I'm calling 'After Dinner Popcorn' (or perhaps 'After Dark Popcorn').

Whatever its label, the results varied. On the simple side of things, The Spoonstress-in-law and me made a batch of popcorn in the Whirley-Pop. Splitting it in two, we dispersed it over M&M's and some chocolate chips. The M&M-popcorn marriage is a good one, but it needed more contrast. In hindsight, more butter and/or salt would have completed the sweet n' salty connection.

As for the chocolate chip popcorn, it worked fairly well, but would benefit from a speedier transfer to promote maximum chip meltage. Sorry to get so technical there.

We also tried what's called Sugar and Spice Popcorn. Since we didn't have mace and neither of us had heard of it, we omitted it. After some quick research, it seems like we had it covered with nutmeg.

When you pour a boiled mixture of heavy cream, butter and brown sugar over popcorn, it better taste sweet. It accomplished that, in a kind of holiday-like taste. But the texture was all wrong, as the spice-filled syrup robbed the kernels of their crunch. The result was akin to a stale spice cookie.

It was mildly reminiscent of a certain favorite dessert of mine. But it almost goes without saying that Sugar and Spice Popcorn is nowhere near as tasty as a spice cake.