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in Recipes· St. Patrick's Day· Valentine's Day

St. Patrick’s Day Treats: Leprechaun Popcorn

After we all loved the Valentine’s Day Cupid’s Crunch recipe, I figured I should maybe work something out for some St. Patrick’s Day treats.  If you want all things green- take a peek at our easy green treat recipes post just for St. Paddy’s! Just like almost everything I make, this popcorn mix recipe  is easy to make with super simple ingredients.  I will caution you that this is highly addictive.  It’s delightful.  Sweet, salty, and oh so much fun. When someone greets you with Top of the Morning, reply with “and to you” and hand them a bag of this yummy St. Paddy’s Day popcorn treat to enjoy!

St. Patrick’s Day Treats: Leprechaun Popcorn

A key to a fun St. Patrick's Day is making sure that you incorporate green into your treats! Our Leprechaun Popcorn is a great treat for your St. Patrick's day celebrations...and easy too!
End of the Rainbow Crunch St. Patrick’s Day Treats

Ingredients

2 bags microwave popcorn or 1/2- 2/3 cup popcorn kernels, popped (We really like the Tender White varieties if you are doing microwave)

12 oz bag Wilton candy melts (I did the yellow for this recipe)

2 cups pretzels- broken into pieces

1 – 11/2 cups M&Ms (Get some Skippers if you want nut-free options- these are peanut AND tree nut free, choose dark or milk chocolate!)

Sprinkles, Nonpareils, Holiday shaped candies for decoration (I finally found, after making this for several years, some adorable and allergy free St. Patrick’s Day candies! Obviously not in photos but these are so adorable and we will be trying them next time we make a batch.

Directions

Pop popcorn, set aside.  Be sure to pick any unpopped kernels out- they aren’t fun to bite into when you don’t expect them!

Melt the candy melts at 30 second intervals in the microwave if you want this done quickly.  Otherwise, you can always do a double boiler method (it’ll take longer), stirring frequently.

St. Patrick's Day Treats: Leprechaun Popcorn

Toss broken pretzels and M&Ms into the bowl with popcorn.  Then pour 1/2 the melted candy over the top and combine with a rubber spatula.  (I actually found that using 2 rubber spatulas worked a lot better for me and I didn’t get covered in yellow delicoius mess!)

St. Patrick's Day Treats Leprechaun Popcorn

Spread mixture out on a sheet of wax paper- drizzle remaining melted candy over the top.

Sprinkle the nonpareils, candy bits or sprinkles (I call them shots) (If you want nut-free, go with colored sugar or check Target- I found store brand sprinkles that are NOT processed with nuts!)

St. Patrick's Day Treats Leprechaun Popcorn

After the chocolate dries/firms up again, break into bits and either store in an airtight container (for about a week) or package it up into treat bags to share with friends, classmates and neighbors!  If you try to do it before the chocolate is ready, you’re going to have a big mess on your hands.

St. Patrick's Day Treats: Leprechaun Popcorn

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About Brett

I'm a 40 something lifestyle blogger living in Connecticut with my husband and our 3 kids, plus our two rescue pups. We love to hike, travel, play games, watch movies, and just be outside together! Having 3 active kids makes for a hectic schedule and I try to share content, recipes and other things that can help to make today's busy family life simpler, easier, or just plain more fun!

I started working full time at a local middle school in fall 2021 and some of my students are insistent that I am mean.

Comments

  7. Heidi J. Sisco says

    Thank you for this recipe. I am going to make this with my daughter, I think she will enjoy making it and enjoy eating it even more.

  11. Karen Hand says

    Oh, I’ve got to try out this recipe. It sounds so good and I’m always looking for something sweet to munch on. Thanks.

  13. Holly T says

    What a cool recipe! I’ve never seen this one before but I know my kids & their friends would go nuts for it! Thanks for sharing!

  16. Winningmama2013 says

    This sounds like a yummy treat that I could have my 4 year old daughter help me make. Thanks for such a fun idea that we can do together!

  22. Caitlan Meador says

    This looks delicious! And I LOVE that it has the allergy safe info too. Thank you, you rawk 🙂

  25. Jane Ritz says

    I’ve got to do this. I have an Irish son -in-law. He’ll appreciate it. It sounds yummy too!

  27. krista grandstaff says

    Yay! I love this idea… especially because my creative green mashed potatoes were such a “hit” (NOT!) last year… I even had green filled twinkies for dessert…lol.. this would def. be more popular!

    • queenb says

      Oh, fun idea! My littlest 2 won’t eat mashed potatoes. They gag. I’d totally do green ones though if they did!

  29. Catherine McKeever says

    This looks really good, can’t wait to try it with my kids, a fun idea for St. Patrick’s Day treats!

  32. Jennifer Hedden says

    This treat looks so delicious and easy to make. I have never tasted or used Wilton candy melts so I am looking forward to trying them. I also love anything with m&ms so I will definitely be trying this recipe. Thank you for sharing this fun St. Patrick’s Day treat!

  42. Ari says

    That looks very irresistible! I probably couldn’t stop at just one handful. And I love how Wilton candy melts come in so many different colors!

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