When I’m entertaining around the holidays, I like to offer fun and festive Christmas recipes such as reindeer chow, Christmas Jello shots, Christmas cookie bars, candy cane hearts, Christmas crack and this delicious Christmas popcorn. Don’t forget to wash this treat down with an icy Jack Frost cocktail! One of the fun parts about the holidays is all the creative themed food. This Christmas popcorn is so colorful and has the perfect blend of salty and sweet. It’s always a big hit, especially with kids.
Christmas Popcorn Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need popped popcorn, white candy melts, Christmas M&M candies, dark candy melts and holiday sprinkles.
How Do You Make Christmas Popcorn?
Place the popcorn in a large bowl. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Place the white candy melts in a bowl and microwave in short increments until melted. Add the M&M’s to the bowl of popcorn. Pour half the white candy melts into the bowl and stir gently to combine. Add the rest of the melted white chocolate and stir once more. Spread the popcorn mixture onto the sheet pan in an even layer. Melt the dark candy melts. Use a piping bag or a freezer bag with the tip cut off to drizzle the dark chocolate over the popcorn. Add the sprinkles to the dark chocolate. Let everything sit at room temperature until the candy melts have dried, then break into pieces and serve.
Tips For The Perfect Popcorn
I buy bags of plain ready made popcorn to make life easier. You can pop your own popcorn if you prefer, just make sure to remove any kernels that don’t pop. For an extra sweet snack, use a bag of ready made caramel corn. This recipe uses candy melts instead of chocolate chips because candy melts are better for coating the popcorn, and they’ll stay nice and shiny after melted and hardened. I recommend using Ghirardelli melting wafers for the best flavor. Use any type of Christmas sprinkles that you like! The dark melts add color contrast and a rich flavor to the Christmas popcorn. I use a piping bag to get a nice, neat drizzle on top. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a freezer bag with one corner of the bag snipped off.
Flavor Variations
This holiday Christmas crunch popcorn is delicious as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes!
Candy: Instead of using all M&M’s, try using half M&M’s and half of another type of holiday candy such as gum drops, crushed candy canes or peppermint candy. You can also try red white and green candy corn. Mini marshmallows are another fun option. Nuts: Feel free to add up to 1/2 cup of nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pecans. You could also add pretzels for a sweet and salty mix. Cereal: For an extra crunchy snack mix, replace 2 cups of popcorn with cereal such as corn flakes, rice krispies or rice Chex.
My Christmas popcorn recipe is perfect for gift giving, movie night, or when you need a festive snack on Christmas Eve!
