Easy and festive Christmas treat? Where? I’m definitely in! I posted this delicious treat back during Easter time and it was called Bunny Bait. In the post I’d mentioned a few other holiday ideas you could do with the same recipe and here’s one of them. This is one of the best treats ever! I’m so glad Bake at 350 came up with such a simple and delicious idea (such a great blog by the way be sure to check it out). It seriously only takes about 5 minutes to whip up this treat, so wouldn’t it be a perfect gift to give during the hectic holidays? I say it’s the perfect “energy” snack for me during the holidays =). It definitely keeps me going! Just a warning, this stuff is addictive so yes it’s a dangerous thing. Easy to make but hard to stop eating. I want to make it every day. It’s such a versatile snack that has such a delightful crunch.
Add as many sprinkles as your heart desires. Mine wanted a lot today =). I love sprinkles. Aren’t they just fancy? Also, if you’d like you can switch up the candy melt flavor with a mint or peppermint flavor. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popping popcorn kernels, or 2 bags tender white popcorn
- 1 (12 oz) bag Vanilla Candy Melts (such as Wilton Candy Melts)
- 1 1/3 cups broken pretzel pieces
- 1 (12 oz) bag green and red Milk Chocolate or Mint M&Ms
- Red, green and white Sprinkles (I used Jingle Mix Nonpareils)
Directions
- Pop popcorn in a popcorn popper into a large bowl (or alternately in the microwave if using microwave bags of popcorn) according to manufactures directions. Remove any unpopped popcorn kernels. Toss in broken pretzel pieces and M&Ms.
- Melt Vanilla Candy Melts in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Drizzle half of melted chips over popcorn mixture, then stir, tossing gently a few times with a rubber spatula. Then drizzle remaining half of melted chips over popcorn, and gently stir mixture until evenly coated (don't over stir though or your sprinkles wont stick if the white chips begin to set and harden). Pour mixture into a single layer onto wax paper. Sprinkle entire mixture evenly with sprinkles (as many as you'd like) before vanilla chips set. Allow to cool and harden, then gently break into pieces and store in an airtight container.
- Note: I was able to fill 8 - 9 1/2"x 4" party treat bags about 2/3 full with this recipe, just to let you know so you have an idea for gift giving.
- *These can be found in the cake decorating section of some supermarkets, at craft stores or at specialty kitchen kneads stores.
- Recipe Source: Adapted from Bake at 350
Rebecca @ Belle Blog: Now that looks yummy!!
Rebecca♥ December 5, 2012 at 11:46am
Anonymous: Wow! What a fantastic site! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. December 5, 2012 at 8:41pm
Anonymous: Could you use white almond bark instead? December 5, 2012 at 8:45pm
Jaclyn: Yeah that should work just fine because as far as I know it’s basically the same thing. Just use the same number of oz. I hope you love it as much as I do! December 6, 2012 at 11:06am
sally @ sallys baking addiction: Jaclyn!! How did you know I made a white chocolate popcorn just like this last weekend?? I plan to make dark chocolate version this weekend. Your photos are gorgeous, as always. Love the pretty sprinkles! Great minds think alike. :) December 6, 2012 at 5:05am
angela @ anotherbiteplease: oooo..I love the fun festive colors!!! December 6, 2012 at 11:15am
Diary of an Angry Pregnant Lady: This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it this weekend. December 6, 2012 at 1:58pm
idania rubio: Made this tonight with my 8yr old and 3yr old. They loved it! Super easy and yummy. Going on a road trip this weekend, so it’s gonna make a great snack for them. Thanks for sharing! December 7, 2012 at 6:50pm
bridget {bake at 350}: It’s so tempting just to eat it all yourself, isn’t it?!?
Thanks so much for the sweet shout-out! :) December 8, 2012 at 8:30am
Jaclyn: Bridget ~ yes of course! Thanks so much for the awesome recipe =)! I always love your blog! December 10, 2012 at 9:46pm
Sarah: Do you need to use plain popcorn, or is the kind with butter okay, too? This looks amazing! December 8, 2012 at 1:19pm
Jaclyn: I wouldn’t recommend using the butter flavored popcorn but if you don’t mind an underlying butter flavor then you could use it. I hope you enjoy! December 8, 2012 at 9:30pm
KingsGirl: Could I use white chocolate chips instead of the candy melts? This looks fabulous! December 8, 2012 at 4:02pm
Jaclyn: I wouldn’t recommend white chocolate chips because they don’t melt well or smoothly and you’d likely end up with soggy popcorn since it’s a different consistency. Hope you like it and Happy Holidays! December 8, 2012 at 9:34pm
Anonymous: If you use white chocolate chips, stir in a tsp of cooking oil after melting! December 11, 2012 at 2:34pm
Anonymous: I make this with white choc chips all the time…works great. Melt them in the microwave 30 seconds at a time until melted, pour over your popcorn mixture and mix with your hands. I then let it sit for a few minutes until it hardens up. I would also suggest adding a bag of fritos to the mix. The salty fritos covered with the white chocolate are amazing. :) December 9, 2012 at 12:29pm
Jaclyn: Thanks for the comment – I will have to give the white chocolate chips a second try =), I maybe just over heated mine in the past but the consistency just seems so much thicker then a thin almond bark (when it melted). Anyway thanks for the comment, glad they work out for you! December 9, 2012 at 2:35pm
Anonymous: if you use white chocolate chips, (or chocolate of any kind really) i find the key is to only microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring a bit in between (and don’t melt too much at once) also add a little shortening to it, and it will stop it from hardening so fast, and it really makes it nicer to work with… December 11, 2012 at 2:49pm
Jaclyn: thanks for the tip, good to know! December 11, 2012 at 11:38pm
Megan Githens: Hi Jaclyn! I am a new follower here and I just made this Funfetti recipe…I seriously can’t stop snacking on it! Such a cute and yummy Idea! I am going to feature it on my blog tomorrow and will be linking right back to you :)
hug,
Megan@ http://www.momssurvivingkids.com December 15, 2012 at 4:12pm
Jaclyn: Thanks Megan! It looks great and very cute blog by the way =). So glad to have you following! December 17, 2012 at 12:25pm
Anonymous: Anyone ever use peanut or almond M&Ms? Can you believe I couldn’t find plain today at the store? December 18, 2012 at 2:15pm
Jaclyn: That’s what happens around the holidays the store runs out of everything it can be annoying, but I think the peanut version would actually be delicious with this. December 18, 2012 at 9:18pm
Anonymous: I used Sixlets instead of M&Ms and Candy Quik instead of chocolate pieces. I also found no need for a spatula- just get your hands in there and mix it around (when the chocolate cools a bit first)! December 19, 2012 at 8:38pm
Parker: I added peanut butter m and m’s and chocolate ones and drizzled chocolate on top. Daughter in law said you can never have too much chocolate. It was a fun project for us to do together. December 20, 2012 at 9:59pm
Simo: I looove these colors. thx for sharing! i will try it tomorrow!! :) December 21, 2012 at 6:51am
hervey bay property sales: so yummy, i will try this during our bonding time for my kids. December 23, 2012 at 5:56am
Christmas crunch popcorn: [...] made some changes to the original recipe; here’s how I did [...] December 23, 2012 at 2:30pm
Jaclyn: Looks great! Very cute nails by the way =)! December 23, 2012 at 3:23pm
Tawnya: OMG I made this yummy stuff ealier this week!!! So gone! This was so yummy making more today for gifts!!! December 24, 2012 at 8:35am
Brianne: Just made some for my family’s Christmas Eve party tonight. It’s so YUMMY & EASY! December 24, 2012 at 11:04am
Cory P.: Completely addicted !! I used pretzel m&m’s instead of the pretzel bits in the last batch I’ve made, yummy!! Thanks for the recipe !! January 1, 2013 at 10:55am
Jaclyn: Youre welcome Cory! Glad you enjoyed it =)! January 2, 2013 at 8:02pm