Today, a highly magical phrase popped into my mind. That phrase was "brownie popcorn".

Now, it's not like it came to me out of nowhere. As it happened, I had just returned from an extended trip, and I was surveying the contents of my cabinets and freezer to see if there was something, anything, that I could make into dessert. Among the "orphan" ingredients were several bags of microwave popcorn I found above the fridge; nearby, in the freezer, I found a well wrapped parcel of brownies. I didn't think much of it until the aforementioned highly magical phrase entered my mind.

Popcorn was also on my brain because I'd recently received these adorable popcorn buckets.

I wondered: could I--might I--combine them to make a sweet and salty dessert? And if so, how?

Well, I would certainly need something to make them stick together. Something more interesting than butter all by itself.

Naturally, my eyes gravitated right away to something else I had on hand: a can of Funfetti pink frosting! Complete with sprinkles! Well, that simply had to be it, since everyone knows that the most vital part of Funfetti is "FUN". Yes, I said that. I love Funfetti!

And so, dear readers, I made this thing happen. First, I made a bag of popcorn.

Then, I set a saucepan over low heat and gently melted the frosting. When it began to warm, I added two 3x3-inch brownies, which I had cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Once melty (the pink of the frosting sort of went away), I stirred the brownie-frosting slurry together with the popcorn, making sure to get it all nice and coated.

And then I added the sprinkles (natch).

And then I spooned it all into my sweet little popcorn caddy. As you can tell, since it is personalized, this dessert was mine, all mine.

As you can see, the others remained empty (although they are cute).

And while you may be wondering if it was awful or awesome based on the unusual roster of ingredients, I am happy to say that as desperation desserts go, this one definitely hit the spot. Nice and rich and chocolatey and gooey sweet from the frosting and brownies...but then with a salty crunch from the popcorn. In fact, I had little problem polishing off this delightful treat, and since the brownies were so evenly distributed, it didn't feel at ALL like eating two brownies, frosting, and a bag of popcorn all in one sitting. Nope, not at all.

Make it yourself! Here's how.

Funfetti Brownie Popcorn!

1 bag Microwave popcorn, popped (lightly salted works best)
2 brownies, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (mine were about 3x3 inches each)
1/2 can Funfetti frosting with sprinkles (approx 8 ounces = half container)

Procedure

Place your popped corn in a large bowl. Set to the side.
In a saucepan over low heat, melt the frosting. Once it's beginning to get melty, stir in the brownie pieces. Stir gently to ensure even coverage. If the brownies melt into the frosting a bit, that's ok. Don't stir in the sprinkles with the frosting; reserve those.
Using a rubber spatula, spoon the brownie mixture on top of the popcorn, stirring to ensure even coverage. Add the sprinkles last. Serve still lightly warm. If someone sees you eating it, asks you what's in it, and makes a face when you tell them, tell them not to judge you.