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LAST UPDATED: • FIRST PUBLISHED: By 83 Comments

Christmas Popcorn

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Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix is a fun treat for parties, gift-giving, movie watching and snacking (along with a Holiday Movie Watchers giveaway!)

Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix. An easy, festive snack or gift! - BoulderLocavore.com

 

An activity that my family loves probably most of all about the winter holiday break is watching movies. It’s a time of year offering loads of new movies in theaters, with more being family-friends than what seems to be the norm of R-rated movies excluding younger viewers from the movie going mix. This year certainly has garnered the attention of young and old with regard to international politics and cyber terrorism around the release of one simple movie. Whether or not to release it has attracted worldwide attention in the precedent-setting game of cat and mouse.

We’ve gone to see the final Hobbit movie (The Battle of the Five Armies), waiting anxiously all year for it to arrive. Free Christmas movies have been streaming non-stop on family iPads. Having been a child fan of the original Planet of The Apes movie series, I played both more recently released movies on my large computer monitor while toiling through hours of Christmas wrapping in my home office. It took both feature length films to finish the job….with a bit left over. There are a number of in-theatre flicks we hope to see:  Annie, Big Hero 6, Penguins of Madagascar, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. I’m interested in Big Eyes having seen those big eyed pictures, never guessing such a drama lay behind them.

Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix - BoulderLocavore.com

 

Between Netflix and Amazon Instant Watch it’s a great time to catch up on movies missed in theaters at home, or to rewatch old favorites; Elf and The Polar Express at this time of year. I usually include a ‘Let’s Watch a Holiday Movie’ in our Countdown to Christmas, with movie size candy boxes being the treat to go along with it. We love popcorn too and I wanted to make a fun popcorn treat that was easy and festive:  Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix.

Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix - BoulderLocavore.com

Our favorite way to make popcorn is with the Whirly Pop. A very simple gadget that does it the old fashioned way, a pot with a lid and a crank that generates an arm to constantly sweep the bottom preventing burning or ‘old maids’. One batch yield about 16 cups of fluffy, fresh popcorn. Three types of seasonal M&M’s are included and the mixture is drizzled with popcorn, sprinkled with mini seasonal M&M’s, white nonpareils cookie decorations and salt. It’s a perfect mixture of salty, sweet, chocolate peppermint and popcorn!

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Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix - BoulderLocavore.com

Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix

This easy, festive treat mix is perfect for parties, movie-watching, gifts or holiday snacking. The mixture of chocolate M&M's include different types of chocolate, peppermint and holiday colors. It's an eye-catching delicious mix no one will be able to resist!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate mint popcorn, christmas popcorn recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 8 Aproximately 17 cups treat mix
Calories: 462kcal
Author: Toni Dash

Ingredients

  • 16 cups freshly popped Popcorn
  • 1 cup Chocolate Chips (Milk, Semi-Sweet or Dark)
  • ¾-1 teaspoon Coconut Oil*
  • ¼ cup Mini M&M’s (one tube), seasonal red and green used for this recipe
  • ½ cup Holiday Mint M&M’s
  • ½ cup Milk Chocolate M&M’s (the holiday bag is red and green only)
  • ½ cup White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s
  • ¼ cup Mini M&M’s (one tube), seasonal red and green used here
  • White Nonpareils (small white balls used for cookie decorating)
  • ½ teaspoon Sea Salt

Instructions

  • Cover a work surface with parchment paper and spread out the popcorn in a single layer.
  • In a small bowl combine the three regular size M&M’s (holiday mint, regular red and green, white chocolate peppermint); mix together. Sprinkle evenly over the popcorn.
  • In a heatproof metal bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, melt the chocolate chips. When melted add the coconut oil and stir in to fully incorporate.
  • Using a large dining spoon, take a spoonful of the melted chocolate and holding it a few inches above the popcorn move the spoon while shaking it gently or tapping the side to allow the chocolate to drizzle over the popcorn. Continue drizzling over the popcorn mixture until all the chocolate has been used.
  • While the drizzled chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the chocolate with the mini M&M’s, the nonpareils and the salt. Allow to set fully (can be chilled to speed up the chocolate hardening; I stuck a tray in my garage for an hour which did the trick at this time of year).

Notes

*I use Coconut Oil because of its mild flavor and solid consistency at room temperature (to help the drizzled chocolate solidify). Other liquid oils with mild flavor may be also used however add the oil beginning with 1/2 teaspoon, increasing by 1/4 teaspoon to gain the desired consistency; 3/4-1 teaspoon should be plenty. Too much oil in the chocolate will prevent it from hardening. Different types of chocolate liquify differently so it's best to start with a smaller amount and add more oil if required (again not more than 1 teaspoon)

Nutrition

Calories: 462kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1.6mg

Holly Jolly Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn Treat Mix - BoulderLocavore.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TONI DASH

Toni Dash head shot

Toni Dash, is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder Locavore®. She has been developing easy to make, well-tested recipes since 2010. Her seasonal recipes bring excitement to the dining table for both gluten-free and gluten diners. Toni has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for her creative, delicious recipes and travel features. For more details, check out her About page.

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    • Toni Dash says

      I actually went to the University of California at Santa Cruz, home of the banana slug (school mascot). John Travolta’s wearing of that tshirt in the movie got the college on the map I’m sure!

      Reply

  4. Taryn T. says

    My all time favorite movie is Gone With The Wind, my kids really want to see Into the Woods, and I would love to win this fun giveaway!

    Reply

  16. Sarah L says

    I would love to win this giveaway. I haven’t been to the movie theater in a long time, but lately I’ve been itching to go.

    Reply

  18. David says

    My favorite movie, or at least series of movies, is the Back To The Future trilogy. There are so many subtle things in those movies that I didn’t catch as a kid.

    Reply

  24. Carolsue says

    I’d like to win the giveaway because I can’t even remember the last time we went to the movies. They are so expensive now–this would be wonderful to win.
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

    Reply

    • Toni Dash says

      I hear that Carol Sue. We tend to go to the first screening in the morning which is cheaper but you are right they have gotten pricey!

      Reply

  25. Heather Mckenzie Carter says

    I know this might sound corny, but my all time favorite movie(s) have been the Harry Potter series. I’ve seen them dozens of times and I never get tired of them. I’d love to win so I could take my kids to the theater to see the new Night at the Museum. I have 10 kiddos so to see one movie for us is super expensive and we normally have to wait for it to come to DVD.

    Reply

    • Toni Dash says

      Heather we tend to watch the entire set of Harry Potter movies back to back over Christmas break or summer break every year! I totally understand. There are so many things going on in the movies each time I notice something new!

      Reply
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