One of the birthday gifts I received from my parents this year was a Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper.  I’ve heard of several people raving about their Whirley Pop and wanted to give it a whirl.  (Aren’t I so clever?)  I honestly made my first batch of non-microwave popcorn last fall when I made this amazing caramel corn recipe.  I am hoping to make it a lot more often now with my new birthday gift!

One of my favorite children’s book while I was growing up was called Popcorn.  It looks like it is now out of print (Mom- I hope you kept this one!)  I found this adorable website though where the author reads the book: Popcorn (By Frank Asch).  It’s about a bear who makes way too much popcorn for his Halloween party and has to clean it all up before his parents come home.  I am definitely going to show it to Baby T when he wakes up from his nap.  Unfortunately, I will probably hold off on sharing my popcorn with him so he doesn’t choke on a kernel!

Here are a round-up of some amazing looking popcorn recipes I found on the web:

-Chili Lime Tequila Popcorn
-Chocolate Almond Popcorn
-Chocolate Peanut Butter Popcorn
-Curry Popcorn
-Flavored Popcorn (Cajun, Curry, Italian, or Southwestern)
-Herbed Garlic-Parmesan Popcorn
-Kale Dusted Popcorn
-Popcorn with Brown Butter, Rosemary, and Lemon
-Rosemary-Parmesan Popcorn with Black Pepper
-Salted Caramel Popcorn
-Spicy Caramel Popcorn
-Spicy Southwestern Popcorn
-Stove Top Kettle Corn
-Truffle Oil Popcorn

For my first attempt at the Whirley Pop, I decided to keep my recipe easy…just some nice extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt as a topping.  I used canola oil to pop the popcorn, but I want to pick up some coconut oil which is supposed to be a healthy alternative.

I used 1/2 cup of popcorn and 2 tablespoons of canola oil to pop the popcorn in the Whirley Pop.  After I poured it in a serving bowl, I drizzled on extra virgin olive oil and a dash of kosher salt.  I have to admit, I had a very difficult time typing the rest of this post as I could not stop eating the popcorn!

I need to line up some Oscar-winner movies to watch this weekend so I can make more popcorn!  What are some of your favorite popcorn toppings?

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