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in Fourth of July· Recipes

Amazing Patriotic Popcorn Crunch Recipe to try right now!

Patriotic Popcorn Crunch

I can’t believe it’s Memorial Day weekend so soon!  Summer is HERE, and it’s time for parades, picnics and…popcorn!!  It’ll be Fourth of July before we blink an eye.  I couldn’t let a festive and fun holiday celebrating America go by without trying to make a fun and festive recipe that’s easy to make and just about everyone loves….and without further ado…This is super simple. Can’t get enough of the red, white and blue recipes? Try these red, white & blue pudding pops, or maybe some Red, White & Blue Cake Batter Dip… or our Fourth of July Red, White & Blue Mocktail… or even patriotic brownies?!

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Patriotic Popcorn Crunch

Ingredients

2 bags white popcorn, popped (or just use kernels)

1 bag Wilton candy melts (I used the Brilliant Brights, because it was a white color with red and blue flecks of color- perfect for Patriotic themed stuff!)

Patriotic colored/themed Sprinkles/shots/jimmies

2 cups pretzels, broken into pieces

Red, white and blue M&Ms. (You’ll note the lack of white M&Ms in my photo- I can’t find the patriotic ones around here and for about 4 seconds today, I thought I might drive 40 minutes and buy them at $15/pound. I then came to my senses and picked blue and red out of a normal bag…you can do what you like, of course.  You want about 1 cup of the M&Ms.

Parchment paper

Directions

Pop that popcorn.  Make sure you take a few  minutes to go through and get all unpopped kernels from the bowl.  That’s not fun to bite into!

Break up pretzel pieces, mix in with popcorn.

Melt candy melts slowly in a double boiler (or at 30 second intervals in microwave- it’s never taken me longer than 90 seconds in my microwave), stirring every 30 seconds

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Pour melted candies over popcorn and mix to coat.  (I use two large rubber spatulas to evenly coat).

Spread mixture out on parchment paper and sprinkle M&Ms and your festive sprinkles on top (I call them shots, but my friend Kathy tells me I’m crazy)– Toss a bit more to coat and let dry

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Once the candy is dried and not sticky, put your Patriotic Popcorn Crunch into an airtight container- it’ll store well for up to 3-4 days.  The whole process is maybe 25 minutes.  Very kid friendly.

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You could, of course, just set a bowl out and enjoy.  I mean, if you wanted to.  Or whatever.  If you want to see how this recipe looks for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day or Easter, head over and check things out!

Patriotic Popcorn Crunch

Want to make this a NUT FREE recipe? Use the Vermont Nut-Free Chocolate’s “Skippers” as an M&M alternative. Be sure your pretzels are nut-free as well, and voila! Nut free treat!

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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

  3. Kristi says

    Yum! My kids would love this! Thanks so much for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty. Hope you join us again next week! The door opens Friday EST.

  19. Danielle Papsis says

    You said it! My daughter loves to help out. She’d love to help make this and she loves eating popcorn this would be perfect. Thanks!

  20. The Duo Dishes says

    Ahhh, candy melts probably hold up much better than white chocolate if you plan to snack on this for a few days. Good idea!

  22. Rebecca Moeller says

    Very cool! I will have to leave out the blue for Canada Day, though:)

  23. Doris Calvert says

    I am from Canada but this looks good and the colors make it look so eye appealing.

  24. rebeccabasset says

    This sounds awesome. I will give it a try, thanks for the Recipe, it will be perfect for when I get a snack late at Night.

  25. Lyn says

    This will be perfect for 4th of July celebrations! And easy to pack for picnic lunches.

  28. Sue - The Spin Cycle says

    We are SO doing this for the 4th of July. Off to pin it now so I won’t forget! Glad to have found you on Sverve!

  31. Jen Seiderer says

    So cute! I never think of stuff like this for Memorial Day but I’ll use it for the Fourth. I bet I can make a peanut-allergy-friendly version. 🙂

    • Brett says

      Very easily. There’s even a Vermont store that makes nut-free M&M like candies (I believe it’s linked in the post

  33. Dana says

    love your holiday recipes…i think i will be bringing this one to a bbq! the kids will love it 🙂

  34. J Timothy Quirk says

    Patriotic popcorn right in time for the 4th of July weekend! I like the look of it a lot!

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