Dining-in: New Year’s Eve edition

With most people staying at home to celebrate, New Year’s Eve will look and feel a little different this year. While popping a bottle of bubbly to welcome in 2021 is pretty standard, popping confetti is another story. To help you avoid picking tiny bits of colorful paper out of your carpet on January 1st, we’re serving up another way you can keep your indoor celebration popping.

Reminiscent of Funfetti cake, this popcorn recipe puts a refreshing twist on a sweet treat combining light and fluffy air-popped kernels with the fun of colorful confetti sprinkles. Grab your new gift, that stainless steel popcorn popper that you picked during a recent virtual gift experience, and let’s get this party started.

Aspirational meets air-popped
Aside from being downright delicious, did you know popcorn is considered a relatively healthy snack? No joke—popcorn is high in fiber and low in calories. The kernels hidden beneath are whole grains that contain antioxidants and even deliver some proteins that we all need to stay fit. What’s even better is that when you air-pop it on the stove, you only need one teaspoon of oil to make six quarts, cutting down on the amount of grease and additional calories consumed. Best of all, you won’t have to forfeit your New Year’s resolutions to indulge.

Additionally, this stovetop gadget is the secret to light and fluffy popcorn. The stainless finish adds modern flair, while the functionality of this tool is timeless, effectively circulating kernels for a perfectly popped treat. The hand-crank keeps the kernels moving so they don’t burn, and the vented lid releases moisture, which helps create fluffy—not soggy or chewy—popcorn. Once you’ve made fresh popcorn, you can play around with different seasonings. Lastly, as if this gift can’t get any better, clean up is an easy task. Once cooled, wipe the inside with a paper towel and store for later use.

Here’s the how-to
Below are the ingredients you’ll need to get before you begin:

• ½ cup of kernels
• 1 teaspoon of popping oil
• 1 ½ cups of almond bark or white chocolate, melted
• 1 ½ cups of yellow or white cake mix
• ¼ cup of vegetable oil
• Assorted sprinkles

Once you have all of the ingredients, let’s give it a try:

1. Pour in the kernels and popping oil, then place it on the stovetop set to medium. Hold the wooden handle with one hand, and slowly turn the crank with the other for about 3 minutes, or until you only hear an occasional pop or the crank becomes difficult to turn.
2. Once popping is complete, transfer popcorn to a large bowl, being careful to pick out all of the unpopped kernels.
3. Melt the white chocolate chips or candy melts in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between every 30 seconds until it is fully melted.
4. Stir in the vegetable oil to the melted chocolate until smooth. Then, add the cake mix to the chocolate; the mixture will be thick but mix until well-incorporated.
5. Drizzle the cake batter mixture over the popcorn and add half of the sprinkles. Use your fingers to toss everything together until evenly coated.
6. Spread the popcorn onto wax paper-lined cookie sheets to allow the chocolate to harden and sprinkle the remaining sprinkles on top.
7. Let popcorn harden for about 20 minutes on the counter or 5 minutes in the fridge, then scoop and serve.

Now, you can have your confetti and eat it too. Enjoy with a glass of champagne or sparkling beverage, and toast to the New Year with a handful of chocolate-covered popcorn. Cheers!