11 Weeks of Wonder #6- Peppermint Bark Popcorn

Can you believe we’re already on week #6 of my 11 week holiday series?! That means that there’s only 38 days until Christmas… 38 DAYS!

So far in the 11 Weeks of Wonder we’ve done some holiday baking, DIY gifting, picked the perfect holiday card, and sipped on a few festive cocktails. Today is all about Peppermint Bark Popcorn and one of my favorite holiday traditions- family movie night! Nothing gets me in the holiday mood like laughing with the Griswold’s, scheming and plotting with Kevin McAllister, and singing classic Christmas tunes with Frosty and his friends.

Each Christmas our family enjoys watching holiday movies together. In fact, Shaun and I agree that it’s not the Christmas season until we’ve watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Christmas with the Kranks (our two favorite holiday movies). This year, I’m determined to expand my holiday movie viewing and catch up on some of the classics that I’ve missed out on. Can you believe I’ve never, not even once, seen Miracle on 34th Street?! That’s going to change this year!

Any time our family gets together to watch movies, we snack on homemade popcorn. Have you ever made popcorn at home? It’s so delicious and easy to make, you’ll never eat the microwaved kind again. I like to pop mine with coconut oil and top it with a sprinkle of sea salt- such a light and healthy snack!

For our Christmas movie night, I wanted to make a special snack that both of our boys would enjoy. Our 2 year old loves “nom-norn” (his word for popcorn), and our 6 year old loves candy canes (you can read a funny story about that here). I decided to combine the two, and the result was this amazing Peppermint Bark Popcorn! If you’ve ever had peppermint bark candy, then you know how addictive this flavor combination can be. Sweet and crunchy with a hint of peppermint, this is a snack that’s hard to put down!

For our family movie night, we usually stick with kid-friendly classics like Rudolph, Frosty, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The boys are at the perfect age to enjoy these cartoon classics. But… when they’re tucked in bed, we bust out some of our favorites like Bad Santa!

Like I said, I’ve missed out on some of the classic holidays movies (Shaun teases me because I’ve also never seen The Wizard of Oz… I’m serious). This year, I’m watching every Christmas movie I can find! To help me on this quest, I’ve put together a Christmas movie ‘bucket list’ of 25 must-watch Christmas movies. This list contains the movies I’ve never seen as well as a few of my all-time favorites. Here’s what I’ll be watching in my free time this holiday season (because, you know, as a mom, grad student, and blogger I have sooo much free time these days ha)!

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? Do you have any must-see holiday flicks that aren’t on my list? No matter what you’re watching this holiday season, do yourself a favor and make a batch of this delicious Peppermint Bark Popcorn to go with it! I promise not to tattle if you sneak an extra handful or two from your kid’s bowl when they’re not looking 😉

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

Ingredients

6 cups of popcorn (freshly popped is best)
1 cup high quality white chocolate chips
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
2-3 candy canes, crushed
Sea salt

Instructions

Begin by adding the peppermint extract to the chocolate chips.
Then, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler (microwave works too, but the double boiler method produces the best results).
In a large bowl, pour melted white chocolate over the popcorn, gently tossing to combine. Make sure that the chocolate is evenly spread throughout the popcorn.
Lay the popcorn out into a single layer on a silpat baking mat or parchment lined baking sheet.
While the chocolate is still hot, sprinkle the crushed candy cane pieces and a pinch of sea salt over the popcorn.
Let the popcorn cool until the chocolate has reached room temperature and is no longer sticky to the touch.
Store in an air tight container. Enjoy!