No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Popcorn Squares
These have no real original name to them, except you may recognize the original inspiration of this recipe: popcorn balls! Did you guys grow up eating popcorn balls, maybe during halloween or at a carnival where they had these?! I think they were usually super sweet (maybe kettle corn flavor) or not chewy at all and just kind of dry balls of air (bleh~!).
These came to mind when I wanted some Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream; we went to buy a pint and the store had buy one get one FREE (I should have bought 8)!! I came home not really feeling the ice cream thing anymore… however the next day I wanted something sweet & salty (I’m so wishy washy) and that flavor combination kind of kickstarted some things. I remembered I had about a little over half a bag of mini marshmallows that were about to go stale if I didn’t use them up. Some peanut butter and chocolate chips on hand. So, I thought of this awesome quick (maybe 7 minutes of your time, max) to make popcorn squares ~ oooh baby these will not disappoint!
These were kinda on a whim, no recipe really in my head except I had an idea of how to make rice krispie treats, and this was very similar, just with other stuff to it! What I enjoy about this recipe, is they’re all pantry ingredients. You can add in other mix-ins or swap out – nuts, dark chocolate for semi-sweet or even some dried fruit.
Like I said, pantry ingredients is all we need: microwaveable popcorn (yes the buttery/saltiness is the best part), butter, any kind of chocolate, peanut butter (or any nut butter), and marshmallows to combine. There is a tricky part to all of this – if you ever made rice krispie treats before, you know how quickly you must maneuver in your kitchen so as to make sure your butter/marshmallow mixture coves the krispies. This is no different, but that’s part of the reason why this only takes less than 10 minutes to make!
These are quick, easy for entertaining guests (in safe distance these days!), and an overall sweet treat! These can be made and stored up to a week (I think they’ll be gone before the week ends though – my husband and I are already half way through and it’s day 2 lol). They are best consumed in like the first two days 😉 I hope you all give this a try when you’re looking for something sweet, with whatever you got in your pantry!
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Popcorn Squares
Super quick entertaining snack or dessert you can enjoy from your pantry
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 3/4 cup peanut butter (I prefer creamy, easier to mix in )
- 5 oz mini marshmallows (half a bag up to 3/4 )
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1.5-2 bags already popped, microwaveable popcorn (I used about 1.5 bags )
Butter a 9×9 pan
Melt your butter into a deep pan on low-med heat
Add your marshmallow and keep stirring until the marshmallow is all melted into the butter
Add in creamy peanut butter and combine completely into the marshmallow + butter mixture
Add in popcorn and any additional dry ingredients (minus chocolate chips). At this point you want to stir vigorously because you want to stir the mixture with the dry ingredients well and that it's evenly incorporated through out.
Toss in chocolate chips at the end when you're just about done mixing – so they don't completely melt – however that is your preference! I like to keep some chocolate chip chunks!
Push the popcorn marshmallow mixture into your buttered pan. Using your hands, press down evenly so that the popcorn compresses- not so much where it will be tough to bite into. You want to press gently so that you can form a flat-ish surface on the top.
Cut into 12 squares or 16 if you'd like them smaller. Cover with a foil up to a week or eat them right away (preferred method)!
As noted, feel free to switch up chocolate grades, add in your favorite nuts and or seeds, and toss in dried fruit for extra sweetness. This is a very versatile recipe that you can make it your own!Â
