candy

The Little Popcorn Store

Have you ever wondered where you might find what is possibly the narrowest store in the Chicagoland area?

It’s at 111 1/4 (that’s how small it is…it has 1/4 in its address!) Front Street in downtown Wheaton. The Little Popcorn Store has been at that location since 1935 when E. Claire Brown put a roof over an alleyway of his new store location, which, at 256 square feet, was over 150 square feet larger than the original store location a few doors down!

It is no joke to say that this store is narrow…and always busy! You have to go into it with the mindset that you’re going to get real cozy with the other customers, and that’s part of the charm!

Be sure to look up, and get a nice view of the ceiling, which I’m assuming dates back to the 60s based on the color scheme:

And then put your mind to choosing some candy…if you can. There are so many different varieties that it can be hard to make a choice, but it’s not really practical to buy one of everything. For the most part, each piece is 10 cents, so either way, you’re not going to break the bank!

The Fab Five and I tried to have some discretion when we went two weeks ago…I think we did ok! (I personally had to get Pop Rocks…the Little Popcorn Store is the first place I ever tried them many moons ago!)

I have fond memories of walking to the Little Popcorn Store after school, before volleyball or basketball games when I was in grade school, and I’m so glad it’s still there, because I really want the Fab Five to have the experience, too!

Tasty Tuesday–Salted Chocolate-Covered Caramels

This recipe is so easy, but looks like you spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I suppose if you actually wanted to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you could make the caramels from scratch, but I’m not interested in doing that much work!

P1230409

  • 14 oz. bag caramels (unwrapped)
  • 6 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
  • sea salt

Melt chocolate in double boiler. Insert a toothpick into a caramel, and dip in the melted chocolate, coating all sides. Shake off excess chocolate, and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Let stand at room temperature until set. Store in covered container.

Tasty Tuesday–Christmas Cracker Candy

This is a fairly common recipe, so you may have seen it before. If not, let me warn you…it’s extraordinarily addictive! I take no responsibility for the fact that you may want to eat the entire pan before it’s even cooled all the way. Just buy enough ingredients to make two batches…that’s my best advice. Not that I know from experience or anything!

Christmas cracker candy

  • 2 sticks butter
  • 3/4 c. light brown sugar
  • saltine crackers (about a sleeve and a half)
  • 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400.

Line a 10×15 cookie sheet (with sides) with foil. Place a single layer of saltines over the foil.

Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil, stirring constantly, for three minutes.

Pour butter mixture evenly over saltines.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Let stand for a minute or two, then sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over pan, spreading as they melt. (Some people like to get fancy and sprinkle chopped nuts over the top before the chocolate sets, but I’m a purist, so I leave them out.)

Cool completely, then peel off foil and crack into pieces.

Refrigerate until serving.