The Year of Living Audaciously

Former food blog, now travel blog - following my year as a Fulbright ETA in Indonesia

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

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Peppermint Bark Popcorn

I’m excited to be writing this post from Seattle! Woohoo! After a long day of traveling, with 2 flights, 3 mean flight attendants, 2 nice flight attendants, 1 allergic seat mate and finally 2 nice guys who put up with a sleepy, smelly puppy… we made it! She’s happy to have a yard, I’m happy to have someone else to pass the responsibilities off to and we’re both happy to be home with our momma, Tom and Spence!

Home with the fam

Before I left, I had to proctor and grade exams for the class I’m a TA for. I knew we had a long night of grading ahead of us so I decided to bring this Peppermint Bark Popcorn as a treat to munch on all night.

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

I was inspired by this post from Plain Chicken and knew I had to give it a shot. I had tried making it a few times in the last week and each time was a failure! Either I didn’t let the oil get hot enough and burned the kernels before they popped or the white chocolate didn’t melt and I had clumps of chocolate in my popcorn (not complaining). But I finally figured out the trick of it and am ready to share the recipe with you! It’s really quite easy to make and is perfect for a family movie night or to wrap up as gifts for friends! Let me know what you think!

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

Peppermint Bark Popcorn with Homemade Popcorn
Recipe Type: Snack
Cuisine: Christmas
Author: Mackenzie
Prep time:
Total time:
An easy Christmas treat! I make my popcorn over the stove so I know exactly what is in it – no creepy chemicals please! Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy!
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint extract, divided
  • 3 oz candy canes, crushed
  • 1 cup melting white chocolate chips, (don’t use chocolate chips – they don’t always melt well. Buy the melting chocolate – it’s so worth it)
Instructions
  1. In a large pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Important: wait until it is HOT. Drop a kernel or two into the oil, swish it around so it’s coated, put the lid on and wait for it to pop. Don’t add the rest of the kernels until this one has popped and the oil is hot enough. Otherwise, you’ll just burn your kernels and they will never pop (trust me on this).
  2. When the first kernel has popped, add the rest of the kernels, swish them all around so they are coated in oil, put the lid on with a crack of air and watch them pop! When they have slowed down, turn the heat off and shake the pot to get the last ones to pop. Pour 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract over the popcorn and stir it in with a big wooden spoon.
  3. While the popcorn is popping, remove the wrappers from the candy canes. Crush them by hand or in a food processor (so much easier). Pour half of the crushed candy canes over the popcorn and stir to mix.
  4. Melt the chocolate according to package directions. Pour the remaining half of the candy canes into the white chocolate and stir. Pour the melted chocolate over the popcorn and mix well.
  5. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the popcorn over it to allow the chocolate to harden.

 

Christmas Cookies #5: Peppermint Bark

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This recipe is from Food Network Magazine and is a copycat recipe to William Sinoma’s peppermint bark! It was fantastic!!

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Peppermint Bark

Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
  • 1 pound good-quality white chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 candy canes or 12 round hard peppermint candies, crushed

Directions:

Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, shiny-side up; smooth out any wrinkles. Heat 1 inch of water in a saucepan over low heat until steaming.

Put all but 3/4 cup of the semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over the saucepan of steaming water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until one-third of the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan; keep the steaming water over low heat. Gradually stir the reserved 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate into the bowl, a few pieces at a time, until all of the chocolate is melted. Return the bowl to the saucepan, 5 to 10 seconds at a time, to help melt the chocolate, if needed. Do not rush this step: It may take up to 10 minutes to melt the chocolate.

Wipe off any moisture from the bottom of the bowl. Stir 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract into the chocolate, then quickly pour into the prepared baking dish and spread in an even layer. Firmly tap the dish against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Set aside at room temperature until almost set, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put all but 1 cup of the white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and repeat the melting process over the steaming water; dry off the bottom of the bowl. Stir in the remaining 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract; pour over the semisweet chocolate and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle immediately with the crushed candy canes, gently pressing them into the white chocolate. Set aside at room temperature until firm, about 1 hour. Lift the bark out of the pan using the foil and break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

A Look Back

This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website and the views and opinions expressed here are entirely my own, and do not represent the U.S. Department of State or the Fulbright Program.