This peppermint bark popcorn is my ideal Christmastime treat. It features my favorite salty snack—stovetop popcorn—drizzled with melted dark chocolate, followed by white chocolate and crushed candy canes. It’s crisp, sweet, salty, pepperminty perfection, and I love it.
This popcorn has been one of my favorite holiday recipes since I shared it in 2012, and I’m updating it with new photos in 2024. For more classic peppermint bark flavor, I’ve stirred peppermint extract into the dark chocolate and added a generous drizzle of white chocolate as well.
If this popcorn recipe looks intimidating, I promise it’s a manageable little project that’s ready in thirty to forty minutes (and half of that time is chilling time). It’s fun to make! Share your batch with friends this year, and I’m sure they’ll ask you for more next December.
Key Ingredients & Where to Buy Them
You’ll find the full recipe further below. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Popcorn kernels: Look for unpopped popcorn near the microwave popcorn.
- Semisweet to dark chocolate chips: I like Whole Foods 365 or Guittard.
- Peppermint extract or flavoring: I’ve used Frontier Co-op and Whole Foods 365, both great. If you don’t have it, you can skip it and still get a nice amount of peppermint flavor from the candy canes.
- Chopped white chocolate: I used Ghirardelli white chocolate bars from Target. Bars of white chocolate melt better than white chocolate chips, in my experience.
- Peppermint candy canes: These are generally only available during the holidays unless you can find them online.
- Flaky sea salt (optional): I love Maldon Sea Salt and use it as a finishing salt on sweet and savory bites.
Popcorn Variations
Tailor the chocolate to your tastebuds. If you prefer a lighter, sweeter chocolate flavor, substitute milk chocolate in place of the dark chocolate chips. You can also trade all white chocolate for the dark chocolate or vice versa.
For a lighter treat, omit the white chocolate or use half as much dark chocolate. It’s still fantastic.
You could go in many different directions with this basic chocolate-drizzled popcorn concept. You could mix some lightly salted, roasted nuts with the popcorn before drizzling it with chocolate. You could even sprinkle it with coconut flakes or sprinkles instead of peppermint.
More Christmastime Treats
Please let me know how your popcorn turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you, and I hope this recipe becomes a holiday tradition for you as well.
Peppermint Bark Popcorn
Get your chocolate and peppermint fix with this peppermint bark popcorn recipe. Please do make the popcorn on the stove with a bit of oil—it’s really easy and tastes SO much better than microwave or air-popped popcorn. This peppermint bark popcorn is perfect to bring to holiday parties since it is gluten-free and easily vegan (see note). Recipe yields about six cups of popcorn.
- Cover a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the chocolate from sticking to the pan (you’ll need to fit the baking sheet into your refrigerator later—use two smaller baking sheets if needed). Pour the oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pan with a lid (if you have a medium-sized Dutch oven, it’s perfect for this). Turn the heat up to medium, add 2 kernels of corn, and cover.
- Once the kernels pop, remove the lid and pour in the remaining popcorn kernels. Cover the pot and give the pot a little shimmy to distribute the kernels evenly.
- Cook over medium heat, shaking the pot occasionally. Crack the lid just a smidge so the popcorn stays crisp, and cook until the popping sound slows to about one pop per every few seconds. Remove the pan from heat and dump the popcorn onto the parchment paper-covered pan. Discard any kernels that didn’t pop—this is important because they will be hard to see later. Sprinkle the salt evenly all over and stir to combine.
- Place the candy canes in a plastic bag. Cover the bag with a tea towel and crush the candy canes by rolling a rolling pin over it. (A mallet or hammer works, too.) When you’re done, the candy canes should be pretty finely crushed.
- Place the chocolate chips in one microwave-safe bowl and the white chocolate in another microwave-safe bowl. Melt them in the microwave in twenty-second bursts, stirring between each, or over double boilers until it’s completely melted and smooth (one may be done before the other).
- Stir the peppermint oil into the dark chocolate chips, then drizzle the mixture all over the popcorn. Next, drizzle the white chocolate all over (if it has thickened, warm it up for 10 to 20 seconds first). Working quickly, sprinkle the popcorn with the crushed candy canes. Very lightly sprinkle it with flaky salt, if using.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chocolate is set completely (it should be snappy when you try to break some off). Break up the popcorn sheet with your hands and serve. The popcorn is best served on the day it’s made but will keep for a few days. Store leftovers in an airtight plastic bag at room temperature.
Notes
Make it vegan/dairy free: Substitute dairy-free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life. You can omit the white chocolate if you can’t find it. Double-check that your candy canes are vegan, if necessary.
Change it up: This recipe is very flexible. For a lighter treat, omit the white chocolate or use half as much dark chocolate. Or substitute milk chocolate if you prefer a lighter, sweeter chocolate flavor.
Nutrition
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