These wonderful popcorn balls showed up in my kids’ stockings every Christmas Eve for years. They are a magical part of Christmas at our house. I found the recipe for “popcorn cake” in the early ’80s but I like them better in balls.
I’ve made this batch up to bring to our first holiday gathering as a family this weekend to surprise my kids with this nostalgic treat. I hope they all enjoy it!
We could always make these last a couple of days…open it up, take a bite, and wrap it up again. Mrs. Santa was up at midnight on Christmas Eve more than once making these for the stockings. So worth it.
I always smashed up some candy canes but if you are really smart you can just order these:
***Click HERE to order the candy cane bits.
Continue prepping all the add ins that like by chopping up the peanuts. The salty crunch adds a very nice balance to the popcorn balls. If someone has a nut allergy, then skip them. BUT they also add protein, so… HEALTHY! Right?
Cut up the gum drops. Our absolute favorite GUM DOPS can be ordered HERE! I’ve been ordering them every Christmas for years! Back in the day we always used red and green, but they are all spiced and we much prefer the flavors of the colored ones.
Melt the butter and add in the marshmallows and stir over medium heat.
Cook and stir until all the marshmallows are melted. Add in as much green food coloring as you desire and stir until mixed.
Poor the marshmallow mixture over the popcorn. Add the peppermint candy, peanuts and gumdrops. Mix until all the popcorn is covered.
Rub some butter on your hands to prevent sticking. Roll into balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Reshape into balls after they are wrapped.
They will be set up in a couple of hours and ready to serve.
Merry Christmas!
If you like this special treat, then check out these others –
Mrs. Santa’s Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
- 22 cups popped unflavored popcorn **remove all unpopped kernals
- 1 cup butter **2 cubes
- 24 ounces mini marshmallows
- green food coloring
- 1 cup crushed candy canes Amazon.com: Festival Candy Cane Peppermint Crunch 10 Oz : Grocery & Gourmet Food
- 1 cup roasted peanuts **salted is fine
- 1 cup gumdrops, cut up https://a.co/d/bzyQ53F
Instructions
- Prepare popcorn and remove all unpopped kernels. Place in a very large bowl.
- If needed break up the candy canes by placing in a ziplock bag and hittng with a rolling pin.Roughly chop peanutsCut the gumdrops, I cup into 4ths.
- Melt butter in a large pot being careful to not burn.
- Add the marshmallows. Stir over medium heat until the marshmallows are completely melted.Stir in green food coloring to desired color intensity.
- Poor over the popcorn. Add the peppermint candy, peanuts and gumdrops. Use a large spoon and stir until well mixed and all the popcorn is coated.
- Rub butter on your hands and form into balls. Make these as large or little you want.Wrap in plastic wrap, pulling the wrap tight to hold the balls in shape and reform the ball once it is wrapped.