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Quick Churro Popcorn

By on May 5, 2016 in American Recipes, Brazilian Recipes, Gluten-Free, Quick & Easy, Recipes, Snacks, Sweet – Others

Disclosure: This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Weight Watchers and Latina Bloggers Connect.  All opinions are honest and 100% mine.

A Quick Churro Popcorn made with microwavable popcorn, sugar, cinnamon, and butter is what we have for a snack today. Yummm!!! It requires only 5 ingredients, is gluten-free, and contains about 7-8 SmartPoints in a WHOLE bag (5 cups of popped popcorn). It already has become a fixture on my list of fave snacks to have… including while watching a movie or TV series. 😉

Quick Churro Popcorn -- Pipoca de Churros

Yes!!! It is a bountiful amount of scrumptious churro popcorn to enjoy — either at once or to split between snacks… but that is the advantage of the new SmartPoints system, which delivers much more than calorie counting, and gives us the flexibility to eat real food and still lose weight.

This churro popcorn is prepared with Weight Watchers® Endorsed Jolly Time Pop Corn, which has 3 SmartPoints by itself. With the other added ingredients, our churro popcorn counts less than 10 SmartPoints, delivering major flavor and satisfaction in every single bite. It is indeed a quick and smart way to eat a rich sweet treat while losing weight… and I am taking advantage of it!

Weight Watchers Endorsed Jolly Time Pop Corn

I bought my Weight Watchers® Endorsed Jolly Time Pop Corn at HEB, a local Texan supermarket chain. But it is available in many other supermarkets. Visit Weight Watchers Product Locator  to find out where to buy this and other products. And not only that! For more delicious recipes like our churro popcorn and other useful info, healthy tips, and offers, check out Weight Watchers Sensible Foods and like the WW Market Facebook page today.  

Preparing and enjoying such a decadent yet quick treat like this churro popcorn helped me get through the day with a smile on my face — without any feeling of deprivation or much time spent preparing it. It really fit into my everyday wellness routine! And all that whilestill sticking to my plan, helped by the pre-portioned size from the individual bag of popcorn.  The beauty of it all is that this treat can also do the same for you!

Quick Churro Popcorn (Pipoca de Churros)

It is one of those win-win things — our kind of thing, right? 😉

Well, almost… There is a “down” side: having other hands reaching out for a bowl of churro popcorn… its irresistible aroma and caramel color attracts one’s other half and children quite easily. It happened to me — you are advised to take the proper precautions. Ha!

Quick churro popcorn by Denise Browning

Churro popcorn here I go — again!

Print Recipe
 Quick Churro Popcorn
5-ingredient, decadent, and quick churro popcorn made in the microwave with a mixture of butter, cinnamon, and sugar. It contains about 7-8 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per bag.
Quick-churro-popcorn
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
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Course Snack
Cuisine Brazilian Inspired
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Snack
Cuisine Brazilian Inspired
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Quick-churro-popcorn
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Pop the popcorn according to the package directions.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk the melted butter with the sugars and cinnamon until obtaining a homogeneous mixture. In a large bowl, toss the popcorn with the melted butter mixture to coat well. Enjoy! It can be served with a drizzle of melted cinnamon chips. YIELD: 1 bag (about 5 cups of popped popcorn).

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Weight Watchers.  The opinions and text are all mine.

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Tapioca Breadsticks (Biscoito de Polvilho)

By on September 15, 2015 in Brazilian Recipes, Breads, GF BFF, Gluten-Free, Quick & Easy, Recipes, Southeast

I know that I don’t make breads very often. But I am about to redeem myself with these tapioca breadsticks — a quick, naturally gluten-free Brazilian snack that is best served warm and accompanied by coffee, tea, or any other beverage of your choice.  Is that sounding good to you?

tapioca-breadsticks

I know… Sometimes I can be a lazy cook.  On top of that, I confess that bread is not my favorite thing to make… although it’s definitely one of my faves to eat! 🙂  Well let me tell ya, these tapioca breadsticks just became an exception, because they are quick and easy to make… and they are similar to one of my favorite breads: pão de queijo (Brazilian Cheese Rolls).  Just thinking about it has me buzzing with excitement!!!

Making tapioca breadsticks

Back in Brazil, these are known as biscoito de polvilho (tapioca “cookies”), and also by some other funny names such as biscoito de vento (“wind cookies”), biscoito voador (“flying cookies”), and biscoito globo (“globe cookies”). Originally from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, they date back to the colonial period (18th century), and used to be served to the plantation owners along with cheese and coffee at afternoon coffee time. Over time biscoito de polvilho acquired different variations in shape (rings, sticks, or spheres), size (mini and regular sized), cooking methods (fried or baked, like ours), as well as in a few ingredients (some add cheese and/or fennel to the dough).

These are traditionally made from sour tapioca starch, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and salt…

Eggs and yolk by Denise Browning -- www.frombraziltoyou.org

… and yet they are so popular in Brazil that they are available at supermarkets and even from food vendors at the beach. Vale D’ouro  and Panificação Mandarinho are a couple of brands that manufacture this baked goodie.

The main differences between the cheesy version of these tapioca breadsticks and the traditional pão de queijo are basically in the shape, and the fact that some like to add fennel to the dough. However, since I am not a fan of fennel, I used rosemary to flavor ours.  Yes, they are a great snack, but can also be a great substitute for crackers or other breads at the hors d’oeuvre table.  In that case, you can serve them with caipirinha instead.

tapioca-breadsticks

Enjoy!

Print Recipe
 Tapioca Breadsticks (Biscoito de Polvilho)
Tapioca breadsticks are a quick, naturally gluten-free snack (or accompaniment for the hors d'ouvre buffet) that can be served with coffee, tea, or any other drink of your choice.
tapioca-breadsticks
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Snack
Cuisine Brazilian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Snack
Cuisine Brazilian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
tapioca-breadsticks
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a large heat-proof bowl, stir in tapioca flour and Parmesan cheese together until combined; then set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, stir in together the milk, oil, salt, and chopped rosemary and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour the hot liquid mixture over the flour mixture, stirring well with a wood spoon until combined. Mixture will be lumpy. Add eggs on one side of the bowl, break them with a fork and give a quick stir. Then, using your hands, mix them with the lumpy flour mixture until obtaining homogeneous dough, about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C). Line two to three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  4. Lightly grease your hands with a drop of vegetable oil. Using a tablespoon as measurement, spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the dough onto your hands, mold into balls and then roll into sticks, 2-inch (mini breadstick) to 4-inch long each (medium breadstick). Arrange them on the lined baking sheets, leaving a space (1 to 2-inches) between them. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until tapioca breadsticks are puffy and lightly golden on top. Yield will vary according to the size of the tapioca breadsticks (22-45 breadsticks). Mine were approximately 4 inches long a piece, yielding about 22 breadsticks.
  5. Serve while still warm accompanied by coffee, tea, or any other beverage of your choice. If desired, you can brush a bit of melted butter on top of the tapioca breadsticks. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes

Sour tapioca starch (polvilho azedo) is often used to make these tapioca breadsticks (biscoito de polvilho). Since it is not typically available at local supermarkets in the US, I used tapioca flour instead -- which is a suitable substitute, and can be usually be found in the flour/cake aisle.

 

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