Peppermint Popcorn
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 3 mins
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
9 cups popped popcorn
12 ounces White Candy Melts (or compound white chocolate)*
3 ounces Dark Cocoa Candy Melts (or compound dark chocolate)*
¼ cup Peppermint Crunch Sprinkles or candy cane pieces
Directions:
Layer a baking tray with parchment paper.
Pour the popped popcorn into an extra-large bowl, making sure to remove any unpopped popcorn kernels.
Pour the white candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl.
Heat on high power for 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each, just until the chocolate melts.
You can also melt the candy melts on the stove. Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water, set it over low heat, and set a snug-fitting bowl over top so it does not touch the water.
Pour the candy melts into the bow and stir often until melted.
Pour the Dark Cocoa Candy Melts into a small microwave-safe bowl.
Heat for 15-second bursts of high power, stirring after each, until melted.
Pour the White Candy Melts over the popcorn and gently stir just until the white chocolate coats all the popcorn. Don’t stir too much or the white chocolate will harden.
Spread into an even layer on the parchment paper-lined baking tray.
Immediately drizzle the Dark Cocoa Candy Melts over the popcorn and quickly sprinkle the Peppermint Crunch Sprinkles or candy cane pieces over the top of the popcorn.
Tap the pan on the counter a few times. This will ensure your candy cane pieces stick to the chocolate popcorn.
Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes until the chocolate hardens.
Then, break up the peppermint popcorn into chunks. Don’t try to break the popcorn into really small pieces, or the popcorn will crumble, and the candy cane pieces will fall off. Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
Store your peppermint popcorn in an airtight metal popcorn tin for up to 2 months, in an airtight plastic container for up to 2 weeks, or in a cellophane bag for about a week.
*You can use any white compound chocolate or white pure chocolate to make this gourmet popcorn.
Compound chocolate, also known as Candy Melts, confectionery coating, melting wafers, or almond bark made using palm kernel oil or other vegetable oil, can easily be melted and will harden quickly once the popcorn is chilled.
Pure chocolate which contains cocoa butter must be tempered (heated and cooled to specific temperatures) in order to harden properly.
Be sure to read my Chocolate Making Tips page (https://hungryhappenings.com/chocolate-making-tips/) for melting and tempering instructions.
Packaging Christmas popcorn:
If you plan to make this popcorn to give as a Christmas gift, here are a few packaging ideas:
Popcorn Tins - White chocolate popcorn will stay fresh for at least 2 months if stored in a metal popcorn tin, so that is my favorite way to package the popcorn to give as gifts. I’ve actually kept white chocolate in a big popcorn tin for up to 4 months. It didn’t taste as fresh as it did a few months earlier, but it still tasted pretty good.
Cellophane Bags - I love to package the popcorn in cellophane bags, even though it will only stay crispy for a week or two. It looks so pretty in cello bags, and this popcorn is so irresistible that it probably won’t be around for much longer than that.
I’ve had customers tell me they enjoyed their bags of popcorn a month after buying them, but it does start to lose some of its crunchiness after a while.
Just be sure not to package the popcorn in zip-top bags. It will lose its crunchiness in just a few days.
Popcorn Buckets - Package your Christmas popcorn in a festive Christmas popcorn bucket or box. Wrap the bucket in clear cellophane. Once again, the popcorn will only last a week or so if packaged this way.
Candy Dishes - Pile the peppermint popcorn up on a red and white striped candy dish or any Christmas tray or bowl, and the popcorn will stay fresh for a week or so.
TIP:
If you package the popcorn in bags, but you have some large popcorn tins on hand, you can place the bags of popcorn in the tins to keep them fresh for a few months.
I bought big 6-gallon tins just to keep my bags of popcorn fresh. I could get 8-12 bags in each tin. I sold hundreds of bags of popcorn each Christmas, and the tins would keep the popcorn fresh so my customers could have a week or so to enjoy their popcorn.
Recipe courtesy of Hungry Happenings.com
