Peppermint Popcorn Bark – Popcorn coated with white chocolate and crushed candy canes! O-M-YUM! This stuff is so dang addictive! Super easy to make and even easier to eat! Whip up a batch or three for easy homemade holiday gifts! People go crazy over this stuff!
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Pin This RecipeEasy Candy Cane Coated Popcorn Recipe
It is finally Christmas baking time at my house, and this Peppermint Popcorn Bark is always one of the first things I make. It is SO good and SOOOO easy to make! Popcorn coating in white chocolate and candy canes. YUM! It makes a great snack or homemade gift. I love to whip up a few batches as gifts for friends. Everyone LOVES this stuff.
How to Make Peppermint Bark Popcorn
This popcorn is super easy to make. Start with popping the popcorn. Remove any unpopped popcorn kernels and place the popcorn in a giant bowl. Next, you need to crush a box of candy canes in the food processor and set it aside. Finally, melt vanilla almond bark or white candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Add a touch of peppermint oil to the melted candy coating. Pour the melted almond bark over the popcorn. Toss to coat. Add the crushed candy canes and toss everything together. Spread the popcorn mixture in an even layer onto some wax paper, a lined baking sheet, Silpat silicone baking mat, or parchment paper. Let the almond bark set up. Break the popcorn into pieces and enjoy!
Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- This recipe uses peppermint oil and NOT peppermint extract. Adding liquids to almond bark will cause the candy coating to seize up. Using peppermint oil won’t change the consistency of the candy coating and adds a lot of peppermint flavor. You can buy it at a cake decorating store, Hobby Lobby, online at King Arthur Flour, or with my affiliate link at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3505NNw
- The popcorn will keep for at least a week in an air-tight container.
- You can use any popcorn that you prefer. Microwave popcorn, air-popped or store-bought are all fine. I usually use plain microwave popcorn.
- I use a food processor and make candy cane dust with small pieces of peppermint candy.
- If you don’t want to use almond bark, you can substitute an equivalent amount of white chocolate. You will want to add a tablespoon or two of shortening to the white chocolate chips to easier to melt and give it a smoother, creamier texture.
- Feel free to drizzle the popcorn with some melted dark chocolate. So fancy!
- Is Peppermint Popcorn Bark gluten-free? Yes! All of the ingredients in this recipe are gluten-free.
White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn Recipe
I absolutely LOVE this popcorn! I make several batches of it during the holiday season to give some away to friends. Don’t worry, I also make a batch for myself. This stuff is too good not to indulge! Especially during the holidays.
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Peppermint Popcorn Bark
Ingredients:
- 2 (3.3-oz) bags microwave popcorn, popped (18-20 cups)
- 1 (6-oz) box candy canes, crushed
- 1 (20 to 24-oz) package vanilla almond bark
- ¼ tsp peppermint oil
Instructions:
- Place popcorn in a very large bowl – the biggest one you have. Pour crushed candy canes on top of the popcorn.
- Melt almond bark according to instructions on the package. Add the peppermint oil to the almond bark and pour over popcorn.
- Stir until all the popcorn is coated. Pour popcorn on wax paper and allow to harden. Once the popcorn has hardened, break into pieces and enjoy!
Notes:
- This recipe uses peppermint oil and NOT peppermint extract. Adding liquids will cause the almond bark/candy coating to seize up. Using peppermint oil won’t change the consistency of the candy coating and adds a lot of peppermint flavor. You can buy it at a cake decorating store, online at King Arthur Flour, or with my affiliate link at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3505NNw
- The popcorn will keep for at least a week in an air-tight container.
- You can use any popcorn that you prefer. Microwave popcorn, air-popped or store-bought are all fine. I usually use plain microwave popcorn.
- I crush my candy canes in the food processor – it is quick and it pulverizes the candy canes!
- If you don’t want to use almond bark, you can substitute an equivalent amount of white chocolate. You will want to add a tablespoon or two of shortening to the white chocolate chips to easier to melt and gives it a smoother, creamier texture.
Steph
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Love this and how easy it is. Most people find it delicious, but some people are obsessed with it and it’s like an addiction haha. It’s a great filler to put in our cookie bags too. Contrary to the many warnings, I used peppermint extract instead of oil because that’s what my store had and it works out every time, so in case you’re in the same situation as me.
My 8 y/o granddaughter and I made this for an after-dinner snack for a group of 10 adults.
The best part of making the peppermint popcorn was placing the round peppermints in a sack and pulverizing them with a hammer.
She called it CHRISTMAS DUST for the popcorn.
It was a fun project and made her feel special to pass out the individual sacks to the adults.
It’s on our SOON calendar to make again.
Thank you for a fun grandma/granddaughter project that also tasted great!
Have you ever made this with other hard candies? Omitting the oil of course.
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Have you tried mixing in the peppermint candy with the chocolate? It seems to work better for me when I make other recipes with melted chocolate and some kind of crumbs. Found this on Pinterest and it sounds right up my alley! Looking forward to making it.