Bunny Bait

I have fallen in love with popcorn all over again.

When I was little, I used to stay with my grandparents for a few weeks over the summer. One of my favorite memories was eating air-popped popcorn and Neapolitan ice cream (I called it "Napoleon") with Bobby while watching Nick-At-Nite. I even remember their air-popper in all of its 1980's glory.

I've been making stove-top popcorn for years, but it never occurred to me to air-pop my popcorn at home. While my corn pop-pop-popped in the microwave, I hop-hop-hopped around the kitchen with joy. There's nothing quite like ditching the vegetable oil for thermodynamics to pop your corn.

And make a sweet Easter treat. 


Use your microwave -- its faster, healthier, and dish-free.

Dish-free!!


All you need is a brown paper bag, a few tablespoons of popcorn and three minutes.

Load your paper bag with two tablespoons of popcorn and fold up the edge. Place the bag in the microwave just as you would any other microwave popcorn.

With the power on high, go for three minutes and listen for the pops and crackles to spread to about two seconds apart. Open the microwave, toss a pinch of salt in the bag and enjoy. Every microwave is different, so use your ears to find the sweet spot. The paper bag is even reusable!

You can't get any more "whole grain" than leveraging thermodynamic properties to explode a kernel of corn into a crunchy snack. The microwaves cause the tiny bit of moisture in the kernel to expand until the little starchy casing ruptures into the crispy goodness we know and love. Stove-top, fireside or in the microwave, the process is all the same. Popcorn is edible science!

But didn't I say something about a sweet Easter treat?


Yes, yes I did. Bunny Bait. The easiest Easter treat you will ever make. Four ingredients.

Four ingredients!!

Bunny Bait:
3-4 cups air-popped popcorn (from about 3-4 tablespoons popcorn)
1 cup mini marshmallows
3/4 cup m&m's speckled eggs (your flavor of choice)
pinch of salt

Pop the corn in the microwave and immediately toss with marshmallows, m&m's and salt in a medium bowl or large zip bag. Enjoy!

Remember, if you actually want to snag a bunny, you cannot eat all of the bait. 
Good luck!


The heat from the popcorn softens the mallows and the chocolate and the salt brings the flavors together in perfect harmony. The peanut butter speckled eggs are my favorite, but all the flavors -- milk chocolate, coconut, pretzel -- go well with popcorn and mallows.

Whether or not you catch a bunny, have a blessed Easter!