A festive holiday treat that makes for a delicious homemade gift! Made with dark chocolate, cacao butter, peppermint extract, and peppermint candies. It tastes like peppermint bark – yum!
Ahhh Christmas. The best time of the year! I love everything about this holiday; decorating the house, cutting down a Christmas tree, sipping on hot chocolate by the fire, watching all the holiday movies (White Christmas is top on my list!), wrapping presents, spending time with loved ones, and of course, baking all the sweet treats. It wouldn’t be Christmas without chocolate and peppermint, right?
When I was thinking of a fun new holiday goodie to make this year, I asked my husband for some ideas and he voted peppermint bark! Since traditional peppermint bark is made with white chocolate (which is dairy-based), I wanted to try to come up with a “healthier” version that still tasted like the real deal.
Enter the Peppermint Bark Popcorn. It’s made with dairy-free dark chocolate, cacao butter, peppermint extract, and peppermint candies (you can’t skip these!).
I’m going to let you in on a little secret – cacao butter is basically a vegan version of white chocolate. All you need a tiny amount for it really to enhance the flavor!
Don’t be afraid to get really creative with this basic chocolate-drizzled popcorn. Try mixing some lightly salted, roasted nuts (cashews would be delicious) in with the popcorn before drizzling it with chocolate. You could even sprinkle it with toasted coconut flakes or red and green sprinkles!
This popcorn makes for a very festive, homemade gift.
Simply pour it in a mason jar, tie the jar with a Christmas ribbon and add a little note to make it extra special 🙂
Peppermint Bark Popcorn
Ingredients
- ½ cup Popcorn Kernels
- ½ cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- ½ cup Peppermint Candies or Candy Canes crushed
- 1 tbs Cacao Butter
- ¼ tsp Peppermint Extract
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Pop kernels using your preferred method. I personally love making it on the stove using a large metal pot.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out popcorn evenly.
- Melt the cacao butter and chocolate chips in a small pot over the stove. Add peppermint extract, then turn the heat off.
- Drizzle the chocolate over popcorn and quickly sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy pieces before the chocolate sets.
- Allow chocolate to set at room temperature, then break the popcorn into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
If you try this recipe, let me know! I love seeing your comments, ratings, and photos tagged #livingwellwithnic on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
