If you need a quick easy dessert for Christmas that any sweet tooth will love, then make this Christmas Popcorn Balls Recipe! Very similar to Rice Krispies treats, but instead of Rice Krispies cereal, it's popped popcorn. Yum!!
WHY I LOVE THIS Christmas Popcorn Balls Recipe
• These delicious holiday treats are perfect for the holiday season
• A great addition to bring to a Christmas party.
• The best gooey texture and so yummy to eat!
• A perfect treat for any fun holiday festivities.
• If you love rice krispie treats and popcorn, these were made for you!
• So much fun to make with family and friends.
WHAT YOU NEED
INGREDIENT NOTES
Popcorn: One of the key ingredients for this recipe. Use your favorite type of unpopped kernels. The already popped bag kernels usually have seasoning or salt, so I prefer the kernels. If desired, you can use a Microwave Popcorn Popper with Temperature Safe Glass to pop the kernels in the microwave.
Butter: Use unsalted butter.
Mini Marshmallows: Use any brand of a 10 ounce miniature marshmallow bag. Find at your local grocery store.
M&Ms: Buy the Christmas themed M&M candies also found at any local grocery store.
Christmas Sprinkles: Use your favorite most festive sprinkles for these marshmallow popcorn balls!
HOW TO MAKE THESE Christmas Popcorn Balls Recipe
First pop a ½ cup of popcorn kernels your preferred way. After popping, make sure all unpopped kernels are separated. I would have your popcorn in a large bowl ready and set aside
Next in a medium-large pot melt butter under medium-low heat on the stove top. When butter is melted, add mini marshmallows and stir occasionally until it is mixed completely, melted, and smooth.
Take the marshmallow mixture off the heat and pour over the popped popcorn. Gently stir the popcorn with a rubber spatula until fully coated.
When all the popcorn is coated with the marshmallow mixture and cooled, fold in M&M candles and festive sprinkles with the rubber spatula.
Once sprinkles and M&Ms are folded in, spray your hands with non-stick cooking spray (to ensure your hands don't stick to the marshmallow mixture part) and form popcorn balls with your hands. To do so, grab about a cup of the popcorn mixture and shape it into a ball with the palm of your hands and gently press to form a ball shape.
Once cooled, enjoy!! Store them for 5 days at room temperature by wrapping them individually with plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container or large Ziploc bag so they don't get stale!!
QUICK TIPS
Forming Popcorn Balls: It is so much easier to form the ball shape with nonstick cooking spray. Spray your hands with a little cooking spray and rub your hands together to spread it. Keep the spray can near by because you may have to use it a few times.
Storing Easy Christmas Popcorn Balls: To store the popcorn balls, wrap each one individually with plastic wrap so they stay fresh and will not get stale. After wrapping them, store in an airtight container up to 5 days at room temperature.
Popping Kernels: I used unpopped popcorn kernels for this recipe and I popped them in a large pot over the stove. However, if you don't feel like washing a big pot, use the microwave method and microwave them with a microwaveable popcorn popper. You could use bagged popcorn, but make sure it is plain, unsalted popcorn. Of course if you have a popcorn air popper, you can use that too!
M&MS not sticking: If your chocolate candies are metling and not sticking very well to the popcorn balls try this. Ensure the whole mixture is completely cooled before forming the marshmallow balls. The Christmas M&Ms can melt easily from the warmth of the warm melted marshmallows mixture and from your hands, so make sure all is cooled before. Stick on a few more M&Ms onto the formed balls if some fell out.
Size of popcorn ball: If you are not the type to like big popcorn balls like these, just make them bite sized! Only other thing you need to do is scoop about a ⅓ cup or ¼ cup (if you want them even smaller) to form smaller popcorn balls.
Extra festive: To make these popcorn balls even more festive, add some crushed peppermint candy canes to the mixture!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I store these traditional popcorn balls? To ensure they stay fresh and that they don't get stale, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and them store in an airtight container or a large Ziploc bag that's sealed.
How many popcorn balls does this make? This makes about 13-16 balls depending on how big you want them. The balls I made were about 3-inch popcorn balls.
How many popped cups of popcorn do you need for this Christmas popcorn ball recipe? You will need about 10 to 15 cups of popped popcorn for this easy recipe.
Why won't my popcorn balls stick together? MAKE SURE your mixture is cooled before forming the popcorn balls, but don't wait TOO long so there's still stickiness left for them to hold the ball shape.
Can I store these in the fridge? You could, but I don't highly recommend it because the cooler they are, the harder they get. Keeping them at room temperature will keep them soft.
INTERESTED IN SOME MORE EASY CHRISTMAS RECIPES?
Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats
Oreo Cookie Christmas Ornaments
Easy Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Cookies
Easy Snowman OREO Cookie Balls
Easy Cracker Toffee Cookie Recipe (Christmas Crack)
RELATED RECIPES
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Christmas Popcorn Balls
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup popcorn kernels (or about 10-15 cups of popped popcorn)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 bag mini marshmallows (10 ounces)
- 1 cup Christmas M&M's
- â…“ cup Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- First pop a ½ cup of popcorn kernels your preferred way. After popping, make sure all unpopped kernels are separated. I would have your popcorn in a large bowl ready and set aside
- Next in a medium-large pot melt butter under medium-low heat on the stove top. When butter is melted, add mini marshmallows and stir occasionally until it is mixed completely, melted, and smooth. Take the marshmallow mixture off the heat and pour over the popped popcorn. Gently stir the popcorn with a rubber spatula until fully coated.
- When all the popcorn is coated with the marshmallow mixture and cooled, fold in M&M candles and festive sprinkles with the rubber spatula. Once sprinkles and M&Ms are folded in, spray your hands with non-stick cooking spray (to ensure your hands don't stick to the marshmallow mixture part) and form popcorn balls with your hands. To do so, grab about a cup of the popcorn mixture and shape it into a ball with the palm of your hands and gently press to form a ball shape.
- Once cooled, enjoy!! Store them for 5 days at room temperature by wrapping them individually with plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container/large Ziploc bag so they don't get stale!!
Kay Sand says
Can I use the hull free bag less popcorn for this recipe?
Martha says
These are a perfect addition to any cookie plate
Sarah says
The popcorn immediately turned soft and the m&m’s were difficult to incorporate into the popcorn. Total flop! Sorry.
Debi says
These were super easy and came out so cute! I made two batches for my granddaughter's special snack time before exams start this week! Thanks for the recipe! Great idea.