Holiday Hosting

As the holiday season quickly approaches, I am anticipating my hosting this year by equipping myself with easy, fast, go-to recipes that are sure to spread holiday cheer to all of my guests. First up, Holly Jolly Puffcorn. This recipe is made of 2… that’s right!! 2 ingredients, plus some of your favorite sprinkles. We all know the holidays call for a grocery overload so having this recipe in your repertoire is a must!

Holly Jolly Puffcorn

Ingredients:

9oz Bag of Puffcorn

12oz Almond Bark

LOTS of your favorite holiday sprinkles

Equipment:

Rubber scrapper

Microwaveable safe dish

Trivet

LARGE mixing bowl

36” of wax paper

PREP:

Empty entire 9oz bag of Puffcorn into LARGE mixing bowl. The bigger the bowl, the better… this will allow you ample amount of coating room.
Tear off 36” of wax paper, place on flat surface away from mixing area.

PREPARE:

Carefully break almond bark up into pieces. Place in microwaveable safe dish. Using the microwave, begin heating the almond bark. At first, use 1 minute increments to get the almond bark going… as it softens, back your time down to every 30 seconds until the almond bark is melted. Do not overheat… almond bark can burn and your recipe wouldn’t be very jolly anymore.
Next, pour the melted almond bark onto the top of your puffcorn. Using a rubber scrapper, clean the microwaveable safe dish of all melted almond bark.
Begin coating the puffcorn by slowly “folding” the mixture together. “Folding” refers to gently combining a heavy mixture with a delicate substance. We want to make sure we don’t crush the puffcorn as we coat it. Simply stick your spoon into the bottom of the mixture and gently bring the ingredients from the bottom to the top. Repeat this motion to completely coat the puffcorn.
Once coated, begin to spoon out the coated almond bark onto your pre-cut wax paper. Spread out to make sure there is a single layer of puffcorn on the paper.
While the puffcorn is still wet, sprinkle it with your favorite holiday sprinkles. The amount of sprinkles to use is completely up to you. You can use a lot or a little! I like to use larger sprinkles in a smaller amount… but that’s just me!
Let the coated puff corn sit out on the flat surface for 30 minutes to harden. Break apart and place in air-tight container. ENJOY!!

Now, for all you party enthusiasts out there… I am not done! This recipe makes for a great treat to pass at your next holiday gathering, BUT for someone like me that hosts all the time, this recipe makes for the PERFECT party favor. One thing is for sure, the holiday season is filled with beautiful packaging. I selected a simple baked goods bag from Target, and I paired it with coordinating ribbon that I layered and tied onto the bag. I added a couple tags embellished with a name and a wood die-cut snowflake and voila! You have a beautiful name tag, party favor, table inspiration in one! Use this favor as your jumping off point to style your table in all of the holiday’s pretties!