Getting in over my head is one of my favorite things to do. I’m impulsive and excitable and when I’m bored, I make things. Since 2017 marks 20 years of Harry Potter, my house has been going into Potter overload. It means wands (hand carved from sticks,) leather working with magical themes, and knitting various house gear. To date I have knitted fingerless gloves in various house colors, two Ravenclaw Scarves & one Newt style Huffelpuff scarf.

It was time to branch out into snacks!!!!

I used this recipe: Three Baking Sheets to the Wind

First stop was the local Walmart to get supplies. I zipped up and down the aisles picking out dark chocolate, heavy cream & melting chocolate to coat. I spent a half hour in the candy aisle looking for PopRocks. They are supposed to explode. I needed explosions. But no such luck. PopRocks was extremely popular when I was a kid and it is out there (I even saw it in candy shops in the UK in the American section) but Walmart said nope. 

Fortunately my Walmart is Mall adjacent. Unfortunately, it was 90 degrees outside and along with my Exploding Bon Bon ingredients, I had also treated myself to chips, salsa annnnd ice cream. I was on the clock.

Slipping into the mall I made my way to FiveBelow which used to be a toy store called KB ToyWorks in the ’90s and someone I know (me!!!!) had worked there for a decade and had made lifelong friends. Still weird to see no one I know in there. Jackpot though… They had all the PopRocks a mad chef could want for chocolate science projects.

The woman behind the counter was dead inside. I can’t blame her. Retail kills. Say thank you people. Say it!!!! She seemed shocked by my overly aggressive friendliness. I made eye contact and told her I didn’t need a bag with a David Tennant style, “Nope!” (Yep, popped the ‘p’ and everything.)

Quick detour into the FYE store to see if there were any Capaldi Doctor Who Tees (Nope. Damn.) and off to the car. I raced home and cursed at the people who had double parked to pick up their kids at the school on the corner and then it was baking time.

Actually I took a half hour fanfic reading break. I love fanfic. Love it.

Then I made the ganache:

This part was easy peasy lemon squeezy. You pop a bunch of dark chocolate into a bowl. Simmer some heavy cream then dump on top, wait a minute and whisk. At first it turned a weird pale milk color and I was worried. But I persevered (panicked and whisked faster) and it turned into this lovely, glassy, delicious chocolate goop. 

It needed to chill for three hours in the fridge. I retired to the living room to write fanfic. I really love fanfic. Also to read some fanfic and work on a ghostwriting project that has been fun but challenging. 

The website I stole this recipe from recommends watching a Harry Potter film. I watched MTV’s Catfish. I’m single and this makes me feel better because everyone is a damned fool liar!!!! (Yet I am still a hopeless romantic.) A walk, a bunch of writing, a knitting break and a Strongbow later, I was ready to move on to the fun part.

The delicious goop was probably not as chilled as it was supposed to be. I made a home for the PopRocks and dumped out Cherry, Tropical, & Strawberry. It was a messy job but I enjoyed how any little bit of moisture set the PopRocks off. It was a very noisy kitchen!

This is what these bad boys looked like before I popped them into the freezer to firm up.

So… I chilled them for ten minutes in the freezer and did some dishes, taunted Dayna with the promise of snacks and wandered off. The timer brought me back and I melted a bunch of chocolate waffers in the microwave. I did not burn the chocolate and am now a hero.  When I was dipping them, they snapped and popped again. It is a silly process!

I rolled them in chocolate, dropped them on parchment paper and sprinkled them with leftover PopRocks. Here is the finished product:

And here is Dayna happily enjoying them:

They taste fantastic! The dark chocolate centers stay soft. The PopRocks maintain their ability to pop surprisingly in your mouth and the fruit flavors really blended well with the chocolate. The only complaint I have is that they are super duper sweet. 

We also washed them down with homemade butterbeers. (They were kind of a bastardized version: Cream Soda, Butterscotch Schnapps, & whip cream.) 

I would definitely make these again. I think they taste fantastic. The process is easy as hell. Mine weren’t fancy and perfect. The balls were lumpy and misshapen but the melting chocolate smoothed them out. The PopRocks garnish makes them festive af.

I thought this was going to be harder but the process was simple. Do this! It is magical when you eat it. It does feel explosive. It is definitely a magical recipe. Do it now. Let me know if you would change anything & if you do change anything, tell me how it worked out. Add liquor. Add newt. Add fun.