Unicorn Popcorn
Sweet and salty Unicorn Popcorn mixed with sprinkles, candy, and tasty candy unicorn horns. An adorable and delicious treat your family won’t forget.
Unicorns, the mythical horse-like creatures with a single magical horn, have existed in literature since the time of ancient Greece. We however think of them as one of the pretty pastel creatures that live in the land of My Little Pony from the long-ago time of the 1980s. But guess what? Unicorns are popular again with young (and not-so-young) girls and at the request of the young girl in our life we have created an adorable Sweet and Salty Unicorn Popcorn that we hope you will love as much as we do!
Ingredients You Will Need
How to make Candy Unicorn Horns
Step 1: We made the Unicorn Horns out of Pink and Yellow Starbursts. Cut a triangle piece of Starburst candy of each color.
Step 2: Use your hands to mold it into a funnel shape. It needs to be this funnel shape, if you make it into a rope shape the finished product will not look like a horn.
Step 3: Twist a yellow piece and a pink piece of candy together like a candy cane to form the unicorn horn.
Step 4: You can make as many or as few Unicorn Horns as you like. If you are making the popcorn for a party, make enough so each party-goer gets a Starburst Unicorn Horn.
Preparing the Popcorn
Step 5: 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 6: 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 7: 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
Step 8: 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 9: Add 3 cups of mini marshmallows to the saucepan.
Step 10: Stir until the marshmallows are covered in the butter, and then continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.
Step 11: Take the marshmallow mixture off the heat as soon as the last marshmallow has melted.
Making the Marshmallow Popcorn
Step 12 & 13: Slowly pour about a third of the marshmallow mixture over the salted popcorn.
Step 14: 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 15: The popcorn should be completely covered in the warm marshmallow mixture.
Step 16: Now pour the popcorn onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, foil, or a Silpat liner.
Step 17: Use the spatula to even the popcorn out on the cookie sheet.
Unicorn Candy Mix-in’s
Step 18: Now it is time for the candy mix-ins. We decorated our popcorn with a handful of Mini Marshmallows and the Starburst Unicorn Horns. We also added Pink, Light Yellow, and Light Blue M&M’s. You can find these colors of M&M’s at any candy store, Party City, or the My M&M’s Website. They are also the colors in the Easter Holiday M&M mix if you have a bag of those hanging around. We pulled some rainbow marshmallows out of a box of Lucky Charms cereal and we gathered up some pastel-colored Unicorn-themed sprinkles.
Assembling the Unicorn Popcorn
Step 19: 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 20: Allow the Unicorn Popcorn to cool. Break apart into pieces and serve.
Expert Tips and FAQs
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.
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.
Pink M&M’s can be found in two different seasonal M&M mixes – the Valentine’s Mix M&M’s that you can find in stores in January and February and the Easter mix that you can find in stores in March and April. The Light Blue and Light Yellow M&M’s can also be found in the Easter mix. These colors are also sold in candy stores, party supply stores, and on the M&M website.
If you can’t find pastel M&M’s, you could also use Sixlets which they sell at Walmart and party supply stores.
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.
Other Fun Popcorn Recipes You will Love
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Unicorn Popcorn
Sweet and salty Unicorn Popcorn mixed with sprinkles, candy and tasty candy unicorn horns. An adorable and delicious treat your family won't forget.
Ingredients
- 10 Cups of Popped Popcorn
- 3 tablespoons Butter (Sweet Cream, Salted)
- 3 cups Mini Marshmallows
- M&M's - Pink, Yellow and Light Blue
- Starbursts - Pink and Yellow
- Pastel Sprinkles
- Star Sprinkles
- Rainbow Marshmallows from Lucky Charm Cereal
Instructions
- To make the candy Unicorn Horns, cut a triangle piece of Starburst candy and use your hands to mold it into a funnel shape. Twist a yellow piece and a pink piece of candy together to form the unicorn horn.
- Pop 10 cups of popcorn and remove all of the un-popped kernels. Salt it liberally and set aside in a large bowl.
- Add 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium saucepan. Melt the butter on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter is completely melted.
- Add 3 cups of mini marshmallows to the melted butter.
- Stir until the marshmallows are covered in the butter, and then continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.
- Take the marshmallow mixture off of the heat as soon as the last marshmallow has melted.
- Slowly pour about a third of the marshmallow mixture over the salted popcorn.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 decorated our popcorn with a handful of Mini Marshmallows and the Starburst Unicorn Horns. We also added Pink, Light Yellow, and Light Blue M&M's. We pulled some rainbow marshmallows out of a box of Lucky Charms cereal and we gathered up some pastel-colored Unicorn-themed sprinkles.
- Allow the Unicorn Popcorn to cool. Break apart into pieces and serve.
Notes
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.
Where can I find Pastel M&M's?
Pink M&M's can be found in two different seasonal M&M mixes - the Valentine's Mix M&M's that you can find in stores in January and February and the Easter mix that you can find in stores in March and April. The Light Blue and Light Yellow M&M's can also be found in the Easter mix. These colors are also sold in candy stores, party supply stores, and on the M&M website.
Are there other candy mix-in options?
If you can't find pastel M&M's, you could also use Sixlets which they sell at Walmart and party supply stores.
How long with 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.
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
