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Our sweet and salty Santa Crunch Popcorn is delicious, easy to make, and will be very popular with both the kids and adults at your Holiday party.

Closeup on a white serving bowl filled with Santa Crunch Popcorn sitting on a white table in front of a bowl of marshmallows and a red towel.

Nancy and I are currently popcorn obsessed.  It is our favorite go-to dessert idea right now.  There is something about salty popcorn, covered in tasty melted marshmallows with just a dash of chocolate that is extremely yummy and really hits the spot.  We jazzed up our Santa Popcorn Crunch with a little something extra – Pretzel M&M’s. Our Santa Crunch Popcorn is a fun and delicious Christmas treat.  And it is so easy to make.  It would be great for a Holiday movie night or as an extra dessert on your Christmas party table! Hmm … mmmm … good!

Ingredients You Will Need

All the ingredients you will need to make Santa Crunch Popcorn including popcorn, mini marshmallows, butter, salt, sprinkles and various types of Red and Green M&M's.

Preparing the Popcorn

Collage image showing how to make homemade popcorn for the Santa Crunch Popcorn.

Step 1: You will need 10 cups of popcorn. We pop our popcorn on the stove (you can find our directions on How to Make Perfect Popcorn here) but you can use air-popped or microwave. 
Step 2: After the popcorn is popped, make sure to remove all of the un-popped kernels.  You don’t want to bite down on one of those! 
Step 3: Once you have made the popcorn, salt it liberally.  It is so nice to taste the salty popcorn with the sweet marshmallow coating.  Not quite like Kettle Corn but close.

Preparing the Marshmallow Mixture

Collage image showing how to make the marshmallow mixture for the popcorn.

Step 4: To make the Marshmallow Mixture, add 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium saucepan.  Melt the butter on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter is completely melted.
Step 5: Add 3 cups of mini marshmallows to the saucepan.
Step 6: Stir until the marshmallows are covered in butter, and then continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.
Step 7: Take the marshmallow mixture off the heat as soon as the last marshmallow has melted.

Making the Marshmallow Popcorn

Collage image showing how to cover the popcorn with the marshmallow mixture.

Step 8 & 9:  Slowly pour about a third of the marshmallow mixture over the salted popcorn.
Step 10: Gently fold the marshmallow mixture in with the popcorn.  Continue to add the marshmallow mixture a bit at a time, stirring between each addition.
Step 11: The popcorn should be completely covered in the warm marshmallow mixture. 

Collage image showing how to pour the marshmallow popcorn out onto a cookie sheet to cool.

Step 12: Now pour the popcorn onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, foil, or a Silpat liner.
Step 13: Use the spatula to even the popcorn out on the cookie sheet.

Christmas Candy Mix-In’s

Closeup on all the Christmas colored candy mix-ins we used for the Marshmallow Popcorn.

Step 14: Now it is time for the candy mix-ins. We added red and green Mini M&M’s, Regular sized Red & Green M&M’s, and red and green Pretzel M&M’s.  We also threw in a small handful of mini marshmallows and some Christmas Sprinkles. You can find the special Christmas Blend of M&M’s at Christmastime in most grocery and big box stores. 

Assembling the Popcorn

Collage image showing how to add the Christmas Candy Mix-in's into the Santa Crunch Popcorn.

Step 15: Once the popcorn is covered in marshmallow mixture it is time to add the candy.  But don’t wait too long. You want the marshmallow mixture to still be warm and sticky so the candy and sprinkles will stick to it. Sprinkle the candy onto the popcorn.  
Step 16: Allow the Santa Crunch Popcorn to cool. Break apart into pieces and serve.

Expert Tips and FAQ’s

What kind of popcorn should I use?

We make our popcorn from scratch on the stove – nothing is better than that in our opinion.  You can find all the tips and tricks you need to make the perfect popcorn right here.  You can also use Microwave popcorn but you should use a type that has no butter flavoring added.

How much salt should I put on the popcorn?

The contrast of sweet and salty in this popcorn recipe is super yummy.  To get that combination you should lean towards over-salting the popcorn.  We try to salt the popcorn as soon as it comes out of the pan so that salt sticks to the hot popcorn.

How long will the popcorn last?

Our family loves this popcorn so it has never lasted longer than a day at our house.  This popcorn definitely tastes the best right after it is made but will keep for a few days in an airtight container. The popcorn is a little chewier the next day because the popcorn absorbs some of the moisture from the marshmallow mixture but it still tastes good.

Closeup on a white serving bowl filled with Santa Crunch Popcorn.

Other Christmas Treats You Will Love

Step-by-Step Video Tutorial

Santa Crunch PopcornPrint

Santa Crunch Popcorn

Yield 10 cups
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Our sweet and salty Santa Crunch Popcorn is delicious, easy to make and will be very popular with kids and adults at your Holiday party.

Ingredients

  • 10 Cups of Popped Popcorn
  • 3 tablespoons Butter (Sweet Cream, Salted)
  • 3 cups Mini Marshmallows
  • Red and Green Regular M&M’s
  • Red and Green Pretzel M&M's
  • Red and Green M&M Minis
  • Christmas Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Pop 10 cups of popcorn and remove all of the un-popped kernels. Salt it liberally and set it aside in a large bowl.
  2. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium saucepan.  Melt the butter on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter is completely melted.
  3. Add 3 cups of mini marshmallows to the melted butter.
  4. Stir until the marshmallows are covered in the butter, and then continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.
  5. Take the marshmallow mixture off of the heat as soon as the last marshmallow has melted.
  6. Slowly pour about a third of the marshmallow mixture over the salted popcorn.
  7. Gently fold the marshmallow mixture in with the popcorn.  Continue to add the marshmallow mixture a bit at a time, stirring between each addition. The popcorn should be completely covered in the warm marshmallow mixture. 
  8. Now pour the popcorn onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, foil, or a Silpat liner. Use the spatula to even the popcorn out on the cookie sheet.
  9. Once the popcorn is covered in marshmallow mixture it is time to add the candy.  But don’t wait too long. You want the marshmallow mixture to still be warm and sticky so the candy and sprinkles will stick to it. Sprinkle the candy onto the popcorn.  We added red and green Mini M&M's, Regular sized Red & Green M&M's, and red and green Pretzel M&M's.  We also threw in a small handful of mini marshmallows and some Christmas Sprinkles.
  10. Allow the Santa Crunch Popcorn to cool. Break apart into pieces and serve.

Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!

© Two Sisters Crafting
Cuisine: American / Category: Popcorn