Caramel Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies-Joanne's Virtual Bridal Shower!

EEEEEEEE!!! I am so so SO excited! Today is an extra special day: myself and a bunch of other bloggers are throwing Joanne (from Eats Well With Others) a SURPRISE virtual BRIDAL SHOWER!

YAY YAY YAYYYY!!!

You may remember Joanne from when she so sweetly guest posted over here whilst I was in the process of moving-she made some loverrrly, brunchalicious, savory waffles! I was lucky enough to meet her when I lived in NY and you cannot meet Joanne and not ADORE that lady! She's also a ridiculously brilliant MD/PhD student, super sweet and fun lady, talented photographer/cook/baker/blogger, and is going to be such a gorgeous and kick-butt bride! Since Joanne got engaged before me, I've been following her wedding planning prettyyyy closely (disclosure-I'm essentially wedding stalking her). And I can tell you that her wedding is going to be EPIC!

First of all--Joanne is having SUCH a food blogger wedding. She's planned her menu to a T (what I would give to eat what sort of amazingness will be served!). She's having pinterest-worthy white pumpkins (as centerpieces...methinks?).  She's getting her wedding cake from Baked (Aunt Sassy's Pistachio Cake, to be exact). Her shoes are fierce (this has nothing to do with being a food blogger....it's just worth mentioning.) She has some food bloggy friends as guests at this amazing affair aaaand A FOOD BLOGGER IS HER PHOTOGRAPHER! Like...amazing. I cannot wait to see how absolutely awesome this wedding is.

When I found out the theme for Joanne's bridal shower was "fall/autumn" (since...that's her wedding season...obviously. EEP IT'S COMING UP SOON! ARE YOU EXCITED/TERRIFIED YET JOANNE?? :P) I panicked a bit. Fall is so not my season and I wasn't sure what to make! But then I remembered that I love caramel corn-and I'd say that's fairly fall-ish. And cookies are perfect for bridal showers-they're easy to just grab and eat up and they're always a crowd pleaser! (If anyone would let me I would totally make cookies for my bridal shower(s)). So caramel corn chocolate chip cookies seemed to make sense. These are so great-they're a classic, ooey gooey, chocolate chip cookie with tasty bites of melty chocolate that coats the crunchy pieces of caramel corn as you bite into them. I think Joanne would approve, I know I did! And I bet you would too!

Check out all the autumn themed goodies from the rest of the food bloggers for Joanne's virtual bridal shower!:

Cocktails:

Pumpkin Spice White Russian - Nutmeg Nanny

Warm Apple Pie Cocktail - Miss In The Kitchen

Bourbon Apple Cider Cocktail- Cook Like A Champion

Snacks/Savory:

Baked Brie with Honey and Sliced Almonds - The Lemon Bowl

Butternut Squash and Apple Galette - Warm Vanilla Sugar

Roasted Pumpkin Crostini - Annie's Eats

Kale Salad with Maple Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Dressing - Blahnik Baker

Lemony-Pasta Stuffed Zucchini - Very Culinary

Pumpkin Dip with Apple Chips- Meadows Cooks

Sweet:

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake - The Baker Chick

Peanut Butter Fudge Pie with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel- Taste and Tell

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake - The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake - Chocolate and Carrots

Roasted Butternut Squash Pie with Brown Sugar Marshmallow Topping - Keep It Sweet

Caramel Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies - The Cooking Actress

Caramel Cranberry Apple Galette - Bakeaholic Mama

Coconut Pecan Tarts - Bake or Break

Cranberry Margarita Cupcakes - Baker by Nature

Gingerbread Truffles - Dinners Dishes and Desserts

Microwave Caramel Popcorn

Caramel corn is super duper delish. It's portable, it's addictive, it's crunchy, it's sweet and salty and just....YUM!

But...ugh. It is a hassle to make! That is why this recipe is AWESOME! So much quicker and so much easier, it's a gift from the caramel corn gods!

Now, I will say, when it comes down to it: I still prefer my old favorite caramel corn recipe. BUT, like I said-a hassle. This recipe is my new go-to when I have a hankering and I just want to be able to whip up some caramel corn quickly and easily and without such a big mess and with A LOT less dishes! (woot! wooooot!)

Hey-when you say "caramel corn" do people ever think you mean candy corn? This has been a mixup that's happened a couple times in my life recently. It's like...nono I know candy corn is awful. I'm talking about CARAMEL corn...you know...popcorn....coated in caramel. Like from the circus or a fair or just that super cute gourmet popcorn kiosk in the mall?

Anyway. So. Here's what we've got: pop some popcorn in a brown bag (which we've talked about before), mix up some caramel in the microwave (surprisingly simple!), then-now, prepare yourself, this COULD get messy, make sure your brown paper bag is sturdy!-you pour that caramel in the bag with the popcorn and shake it until it's all coated, THEN microwave, THEEEN shake it, THENTHENTHEN microwave it some more. Then shake it again. Then lay it out and let it cool and harden. TA-DAAAA (or, as the little girl I babysit says "DAAAAAA!") you have caramel corn!!! It's going to be crunchy, but still a little sticky (so be prepared to find delicious leftover morsels in your teeth for the next couple hours :P). 

And there you have it: simple! Gotta love a microwave.

"Snickers" Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

I love sweets.

I love popcorn.

I love chocolate.

I love peanut butter.

I LOVE CARAMEL CORN!

So like...I know Thanksgiving is this week, and I don't really know if caramel corn is a particularly Thanksgiving kinda thing but...I mean...corn was a big deal at the time, with the natives and such, ya know? So...yeah. That makes sense.

My beloved Kristina (from Whipped) shared this recipe around Halloween time. Because it's like candy. But somehow low-cal? I think it's because of the popcorn, I don't know. All I know is I wasted pretty much no time to get this in Michael's and my bellies. We were pretty darned excited. And it was delicious. And we ate it. A lot. And before we knew it...it was gone. Because popcorn is addictive like that.

I'm not gonna lie...this recipe is difficult...I think? I'm not 100% sure if making caramel corn is hard or if I just suck at it, but all I know is I can never evenly coat all the popcorn and the caramel is hot and I burn myself and I can't make it all sit on the pan evenly and when I try to mix it I make a mess and...yeah. But then all those annoyances fade away when I take the first bite. Kinda like how moms supposedly forget the pain of childbirth once they hold their baby in their arms (is that true? I sure hope so). You know? But yeah. You should make this. It's popcorn (popped in a big pot which is way more fun than I realized...heheeee all the lil kernels go "pop! pop! pop!"), a peanut butter caramel, and a yummalicious chocolate drizzle on top of it all. Oh yeah and peanuts. Sweet...salty....nummy.

Caramel Corn-Take 2: Holiday Recipe Exchange: Week 14 (Holiday Entertaining)

When you think about nostalgic, classic images of Christmas-one that pops into my head is of people decorating their trees with apples and pine cones and strands of popcorn. Something about popcorn just goes with the holidays (and...admittedly....I just love popcorn always. But I digress.) Up until recently, I wasn't a huge fan of caramel corn. I'm unsure why. I think because I'm generally not a caramel fan, so I assumed. But last summer, while I was filming You Can't Kill Stephen King in Maine, we were provided with free popcorn by Michele's Totally Awesome Gourmet Popcorn. I became an addict. So, when I recently saw this recipe on Sing for Your Supper, I knew it was time to try my hand at making some on my own. It was so amazing I can't even say. Michael had his work friends impressed and he and I couldn't stop munching on this stuff! This is also perfect for holiday entertaining-put out a bowl of this caramel corn, at any party really, and that bowl will disappear within moments. Now go! Make this and do some holiday stuff. I'm currently watching some of my favorite Christmas movies (on right now is a TV movie-"Once Upon A Christmas"). :)

(Holiday Recipe Exchange posts: Week 1 Parts 1 and 2, Week 3, Week Six, Week Seven, Week Nine , and Week 10 Parts 1 and 2,Week 11 Parts 1 and 2, Week 12 Part 1 and 2 and Week 14 Part 1)