This easy-to-make Christmas popcorn snack mix is a perfect recipe for your holiday party, neighbor gift, or Hallmark family movie night!
Christmas is next week! Are you ready? My shopping is almost all done, and I’m looking forward to some good low-key family time together next week. This week has been crazy busy (we’ve had something planned every night), but next week our schedule is wide open, and I want to keep it that way.
The only real must-do next week is to have a family movie night and let the kids sleep in the family room next to the Christmas tree. They’ve been begging to do that all month, and I promised once they were on break from school, we could pick a night and do it.
This Christmas popcorn snack mix is likely to make an appearance at our movie night, too…because what’s movie night without popcorn?
This recipe is a quick and easy treat that makes any holiday event feel fun and festive with minimal effort.
We originally made this treat for our Polar Express party a couple weeks ago and it was a hit! The huge batch took just five minutes to make (even with kids “helping” me cook) and it was gobbled up in no time by my “focus group” of 20+ neighborhood kids and their moms.
There are lots of recipes out there for holiday snack mixes, but this one is a little different because I chose NOT to coat everything in melted candy the way most recipes do. Instead, I just drizzled the candy melts over a mixture of popcorn, mini pretzels, and Chex cereal. The result is a little lighter-tasting treat…still sweet for sure, but you get more of a balanced taste with the salty pretzels and savory popcorn.
So, if you need a quick treat for a holiday party, neighbor gift, or family movie night this season, try out this recipe!
Christmas popcorn snack mix
This easy-to-make Christmas popcorn snack mix is a perfect recipe for your holiday party, play-date, or Hallmark movie night!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels (unpopped)
- 2 cups mini pretzel twists
- 2 cups Chex cereal (I used honey nut)
- 1/2 cup red Candy Melts
- 1/2 cup green Candy Melts
- 1 cup green and red Milk Chocolate or Mint M&Ms (optional)
Instructions
- Pop popcorn using an air popper into a large bowl (you can use microwave popcorn as well, but I recommend getting a "light" variety so it's not too buttery. Remove unpopped kernels.
- Line two large cookie sheets with parchment or foil (for easy clean up) and spread popcorn out, dividing between the two sheets.
- Sprinkle one cup of pretzels and one cup of Chex cereal on each cookie sheet, stirring to mix them up with the popcorn.
- Melt 1/2 cup green Candy Melts in a microwave safe bowl according to manufacturer's directions. I melted them on half power in 30 second intervals until I could stir it completely smooth.
- Drizzle Candy Melts over popcorn mix, working from one corner of the pan to the opposite corner in diagonal lines.
- Repeat steps 4 & 5 with the red Candy Melts, working from the opposite corner to make a criss-cross design with the melted candy.
- Sprinkle M&Ms over the melted candy, if desired.
- Let the melted candy cool. Once it is hardened, break the snack mix into chunks and place it in a large bowl (or divide into individual treat bags to give away). Munch away!
Notes
Make sure that you don't pile the popcorn too high on the cookie sheets. The thinner the layers, the more pieces of the mix will be covered with melted candy, so make sure to spread it out as much as you can. If you want more sweetness, you can always increase the amount of melted candy and drizzle some extra on.
Want more kid-friendly holiday recipes? Try these:
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