Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 bag of popped popcorn

Directions

1. To make the caramel sauce, heat a saucepan over medium heat to melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.
2. Place coated popcorn in a baking dish and bake in 250 degrees F oven stirring after 2 minutes, for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.

Enjoy these crispy and crunchy bites! You'll be done before the movie starts.

Rice Krispies Lollipops

Special occasions always inspire creative creations in the kitchen or elsewhere. While I was planning my birthday celebration, I knew I was going to feel appreciative towards the people that showed up to my party. As a nice gesture, I wanted my guests to take home something special. The heart and circle shaped cookie cutters that I found lying in my mom's pantry was a fine discovery and the best tool to use when you don't want your hands to be doing 100% of the work.

Serves 25: 2 large boxes of rice krispies cereal, 4 bags of marshmallows, 2 sticks of butter.

I have grown very fond of microwavable chocolate chips. Due to many failed attempts to melt regular chocolate chips in a pot over boiling water, I needed a quick and simple alternative solution. Using a butter knife and small spoon, the melted white chocolate is spread over the heart-shaped rice krispies after a 2 minute cool down. I carefully dipped one side of the remaining circle-shaped rice krispies halfway into the melted milk chocolate and sprinkled finely chopped peanuts for an added crunch.

Skewers came in handy when making these treats resemble a lollipop. It is recommended to insert the skewers or lollipop sticks before refrigeration or else it would be tougher to get them in when it hardens.

I made a stop to the craft store and found candy wrappers to cover the finished treats. The candy wrappers came with wire twist-ties, which was useful and easy for unwrapping the treats. Lastly, ribbons are always a great touch to the complete look!