Popcorn and candy is a classic combination. It mixes both sweet treats and our favorite salty snack to create the perfect mix. Candy popcorn mix is perfect for Halloween, movie night, birthday parties or just to have as a special dessert. A good, sweet snack mix made with popcorn is always a good idea.
Candy popcorn mix is super easy to make no matter what recipe you follow. It takes almost no prep time and the total time to make the snack is under ten minutes. Seems like something you can whip up pretty quickly whenever you want. We will go over the top nine best candies and sweets to mix with your popcorn so you can make a personalized, delicious candy popcorn mix right away.
9 Best Candies & Sweets to Mix with Popcorn
Candy popcorn mix is a great snack because you can customize it to suit your taste buds. You can choose your favorite candies and pair them with all different types of popcorns.
We like to pick a salty popcorn base. Unsalted butter popcorn, sea salt popcorn and kettle corn are all perfect choices as they will make the snack mix have both sweet and salty flavors. You can also choose caramel corn to make a super sugary snack mix.
Whether you want a sweet and salty mix or just something sweet, these top 9 awesome candies will work wonderfully in your recipe.
1. White Chocolate Chips
White chocolate chips are amazing with salty popcorn. The sweet white chocolate compliments the saltiness of the popcorn perfectly. You can choose to toss the white chocolate chips with your warm popcorn or you can melt the chocolate first.
Melt the white chocolate chips over medium heat on the stovetop or microwave them for a few seconds. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the popcorn and toss it together. Wait until the popcorn is room temperature then enjoy.
2. Candy Corn
Candy corn popcorn is an ideal snack around Halloween. While candy corn is essentially pure sugar, it adds a nice, easy sweetness to your popcorn. You can also mix it with caramel popcorn for an even more dessert-like snack. Just mix your base popcorn in a large bowl with soem candy corn and it is ready to eat.
3. Sprinkles
Sprinkles are another super easy sweet treat to add to popcorn. They add just a hint of sweetness without the flavor being too overwhelming. Use storebought sprinkles or try your hand at making your own sprinkles to make a truly gourmet popcorn mix.
Mix some sugar with a little food coloring then spread the colored sugar on a cookie sheet. Bake the sugar at a low temperature for about 10 minutes to set the colors. Then, toss it with your favorite popcorn.
4. Milk Chocolate Fudge
Milk chocolate fudge is a fun way to make a new and unique snack. Adding fudge to popcorn gives the snack mix an interesting texture and sweet taste. Simply crumble fudge over a large bowl of warm popcorn. Toss the add-ion into the popcorn then enjoy.
5. Oreos
Everyone loves Oreos and everyone loves popcorn. Why not combine the two?. Oreos may not be a candy but they are still a tasty sweet ingredient to mix with your popcorn. Crumble of chop the cookies into bite sized pieces and then toss them with your popcorn. Try using mini Oreos that won’t need to be cut.
6. Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut butter cups are a great sweet candy to turn your bowl of popcorn into a gourmet snack. You can chop whole peanut butter cups into smaller pieces or use mini peanut butter cups. Add the chocolate candy to a warm bowl of popcorn so the heat melts the peanut butter cups a little bit. This will help get that chocolate, peanut butter flavor on to every bite.
7. M&Ms
M&M’s are a classic candy that many people like to mix into popcorn. M&M popcorn is quite easy to make which is why it is one of our favorite candies for popcorn snack mix. Simply add your popcorn to a large bowl and then mix in your favorite M&M’s. Peanut, cookie dough or even mini M&M’s will all be great in their own way.
8. Mini Marshmallows
Mini marshmallows are another candy that you want to mix into your popcorn while the popcorn is warm. The marshmallows will melts a little bit and make every bite of popcorn sticky and sweet.
You can also try melting the marshmallows with some butter then pouring it over the popcorn. This will create a rice krispie like snack that you are sure to enjoy.
9. Sour Patch Kids
Sour patch kids and popcorn is quite the unique treat. The sweet and sour candy is surprisingly good with salty popcorn. You may be surprised by how tasty the fruity and sour snack mix is.
Simply add your popped popcorn to a large bowl and add in some sour patch kids. Give the mix a good stir and then enjoy.
Different Ways to Make Popcorn at Home
The most important part of your popcorn candy mix is the popcorn. Making perfectly popped popcorn is important. Here are the three main ways you can make popcorn at home:
- Microwave popcorn– All you need to do is put a bag of microwave popcorn in your microwave and let it pop for a few minutes. Once your hear the kernel popping slow down, the popcorn is done.
- Air popped popcorn– Use an air popper to make fluffy popcorn without oil. Air poppers use hot air pressure to make popcorn quickly and in a nutritious way.
- Stovetop popcorn– Heat a little bit of oil in a large saucepan. Add the kernels to the pot, give them a quick stir then cover the pot and let the popcorn pop.
The prep time for your snack mix will vary depending on what type of popcorn you make. However, all these methods will still take less than ten minutes so you can start making your snack mix ASAP.
How Long Will a Popcorn Candy Mixture Stay Fresh?
Popcorn candy mix really is best when it is fresh. It will last a few weeks when stored in an airtight container. We do recommend making small servings of snack mix at a time so it doesn’t go to waste. Make about ¼ cup of unpopped kernels at a time to give yoursle about 4-5 cups of popped popcorn.
Place a piee of parchment paper in the bottom of your container to help absorb moisture. Then, add your popcorn snack mix to the container and seal it up.
Get More Snacking Inspiration with Popsmith
Are you ready to create a fantastic candy popcorn mix? Please tell us all about it. We love hearing about your popcorn creations.
Don’t forget to check back frequently as we at Popsmith are always creating new and exciting ways to enjoy your favorite snack. We also have tons of information about popcorn so you can learn while you eat. We hope to see you back real soon. Happy snacking.
