Peppermint Popcorn

This easy peppermint popcorn is made with freshly popped popcorn that’s coated in chocolate and crushed peppermints. It’s like making gourmet popcorn at home!

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About Peppermint Popcorn

Festive and delicious, this peppermint popcorn is an ideal treat for snacking and gifting during the holidays.

It’s easy to make, looks festive, and is easy to customize with your favorite flavor of chocolate (or even some food coloring!)

What’s in peppermint popcorn?

• Popped popcorn – The key to this treat! Two tablespoons of popcorn kernels makes about 4 cups of popcorn, so you’ll need roughly 1/4 cup kernels to make enough popcorn for this recipe. Feel free to pop it however you’d like, whether that be air-popped, stovetop, or microwave. If you’re using the bagged popcorn that’s heated in the microwave, try to find a “natural” or unflavored popcorn so you don’t have the heavy yellow color or taste from the salted butter.
• Candy Melts – Used for coating the candy in sweet, chocolate goodness. Feel free to use any flavor or combination that you’d like (such as chocolate, white chocolate, etc).
• Crushed Peppermints – These give this popcorn treat it’s peppermint flavor, but you don’t need much. You can either crush peppermint candies (candy canes or the hard candy mints) OR during the holidays you might get lucky and find a bag of pre-crushed peppermints.

How do you crush peppermints?

If you have a bunch of hard candy mints or candy canes, there’s an easy way to crush them for this recipe;

• Place the peppermints in a ZipLoc bag and zip it shut.
• Use a meat tenderizer, rolling pin, or even a hammer to tap and crush the candy to the desired consistency. NOTE: Make sure the surface you’re doing this on is solid and won’t be damaged by the impact. I like to put down an old cutting board to protect my kitchen counters.

What type of candy melts should you use?

Candy melts (also called melting wafters) are pretty common – you can find them in the baking supply area, and they’re small, flat disks, typically sold by the bag – but I do think there are significant differences in quality depending on the brand of candy melts you buy.

Wilton is by far the most common brand of candy melt, and they are sold in a variety of colors. This makes them a popular pick, since you can buy the exact color you need and can get right to crafting your creepy treats. Wilton is simple and easy.

However, I’ve not been impressed with the quality of Wilton candy melts. Their candy melts cool fast, which means it becomes thick and harder to use long before you may be done using it. It needs to be reheated more and the quality of the melts gets a little more “iffy” each time.

Given the above, I would highly recommend picking up Ghirardelli brand candy melts. You could also use their bar chocolate or chocolate chips. These are my favorite candy melts to work with due to the superior quality and taste.

How long is peppermint popcorn good for?

Once prepared and cooled, peppermint popcorn can be stored in a sealed container on the counter for up to one week. However, it’s best if it’s eaten within two or three days.

Can you freeze peppermint popcorn?

Yes, you totally can! The trick is that you must use a freezer bag; a storage container won’t work as well.

Once prepared and cooled, peppermint popcorn can be stored in a freezer bag (with as much air removed as possible) for up to three months.

Notes & tips for peppermint popcorn

• Want more peppermint flavor? You can also mix in 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract into the melted candy.
• If you’re a fan of salty and sweet, sprinkle a little bit of coarse sea salt on the popcorn before coating it with candy melts.

More great candy recipes

How to make peppermint popcorn

This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.

Step 1 – Place the popped popcorn in a large bowl. If you’re using multiple flavors of candy melts, divide the popcorn evenly between a bowl for each flavor.

Step 2 – Melt the candy per the package instructions. Once smooth, mix in about half of the crushed peppermints. Remember that if you’re using multiple flavors to divide the crushed peppermints evenly among them.

Step 3 – Pour the melted candy over the popcorn, then use a spatula to gently toss and coat.

Step 4 – Transfer coated popcorn to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then sprinkle the remaining crushed peppermints on top. And again, remember that if you’re doing multiple candy flavors to divide the remaining peppermints evenly.

Step 5 – Allow peppermint popcorn to cool completely, then break apart into snack-sized pieces.

Step 6 – Serve and enjoy!