Peppermint Candied Popcorn
Popcorn is one of those neutral flavored foods that takes to anything you want to throw at it, sweet OR savory (or both). Most recipes out there for peppermint popcorn has you crushing candy canes and throwing it in with the popcorn and then drizzling it with white chocolate. Usually that means clumps of sticky candy pieces at the bottom of the tin and chunky heavy white chocolate covered popcorn. This recipe is made with just sugar, a touch of corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and some peppermint oil. Red food coloring is optional. Feel free to cut the recipe in half if it’s too much popcorn for you (but I make large batches because it’s pretty addictive). If you want, you can also substitute in pre-packaged microwave popcorn instead of the stovetop popcorn. Just use two bags of natural flavored popcorn, with minimal amounts of buttery flavoring on it. Be sure there’s some salt on it though, as it’s a nice foil to the sweet peppermint candied coating.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 4 of 8 ingredients — the other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 4 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Popcorn | not in our table | 0 |
| Syrup | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Peppermint | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2/3 cup unpopped popcorn
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
- 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 5 to 6 drops of red food coloring (optional – see note below)