Are you planning a Christmas movie night with your littles? Then you must make this popcorn and pretzel elf mix that is loaded with chocolate goodness and can be prepared in mere minutes with your kids to munch on during the family movie night.
While air-popped popcorn is best suited for this recipe, you can also use microwave popcorn if that’s what you have. However, it will be saltier than the original recipe and might lose the crunchiness quickly, so make sure not to leave the elf mix bucket idle while watching the film.
The best part about the popcorn and pretzel elf mix is that you can experiment with different flavors like regular, dark, and mint chocolate instead of white chocolate. You can even use crushed candy canes or M&Ms instead of sprinkles.
This snack is best enjoyed while fresh, but if stored in an airtight container, it can last up to two weeks. So, let’s get straight into this kid-friendly Christmas recipe that you can enjoy preparing with your little ones this holiday season.
Top Tip: If you plan to munch on these while watching a movie, serve them in popcorn buckets; your kids will love it! You can also ask them to decorate the popcorn buckets to make them more festive, and voila, you have a kids’ activity that is fun and festive. Serve their elf mix in the bucket they decorated, and enjoy a Christmas movie night with your loved ones.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1⁄3 cup salted popcorn (or sweet, as per your and your kids’ preference)
- 2 cups cereal hoops
- ½ cup dried cranberries or cherries
- 1 tablespoon colorful sprinkles (or a festive mixture)
- 1 cup pretzels
- ¼ cup red and green sugar-coated chocolate sweets
- ¼ cup mini marshmallows
Preparation
- To make this popcorn and pretzel elf mix, coarsely chop the white chocolate.
- Put the chopped chocolate in a small glass bowl and microwave at 50% power in 30-second spurts till it melts completely. If you want, you can even melt the chocolate with the double broiler method. For this, take a small bowl with boiling water and place a bigger bowl with chocolate on top of it. Stir it till the chocolate melts. Make sure the base of the big bowl does not touch the water.
- Spread the popcorn, cereal, and cranberries over a wax paper-lined baking tray and drizzle the melted white chocolate with a spoon (or piping bag if you find that easier). Make sure there aren’t any unpopped kernels in the popcorn. You don’t want your kids to lose a tooth after biting into one.
- Gently mix everything with a spoon.
- Once mixed, scatter over the sprinkles. Leave the mixture in a cool place to set for 1-2 hours.
- After the popcorn and cereal mixture is set, break them up into bite-size pieces. Your kids will enjoy this part, so let them do the work for you.
- Put these pieces in a bowl. Toss in the chocolate sweets and pretzels, along with marshmallows, and enjoy with your entire family.
Store the leftover mix in an airtight container and enjoy it within a few days. Isn’t this popcorn and pretzel elf mix easy to make? Your kids will be happy to make this delicious snack with you for Christmas. So, try this recipe today and let us know how you liked it in the comment section below.
