Easy Gourmet Chocolate Popcorn

This easy gourmet chocolate popcorn comes together in 10 minutes and is so delicious. It makes the perfect easy neighbor gift or holiday party treat. I’m sharing five amazing flavor combinations, but there are endless possibilities you can create.

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Hi friends! I’m popping in today (pun intended) to share a super easy and quick popcorn treat with you.

I’ve already got a couple of favorite popcorn recipes on my site: Coconut Oil Popcorn, Marshmallow Popcorn, and Sweet and Spicy Cinnamon Popcorn. They are all pretty much irresistible if you like good popcorn.

And today’s popcorn treat is no different.

It comes together in just 10 minutes and makes the perfect last minute treat to share or give away. We love to make it for neighbor gifts or to bring for a holiday party. I’ve got five awesome flavor combinations for you to try (and there are endless possibilities you can create). The recipe is super adaptable so you can create some amazing flavors with things you already have lying around in your pantry.

It’s Seriously. So. EASY.

I know I’ve said that a lot, but it is! I’m almost embarrassed to share the recipe because of how easy it is. But everyone needs delicious treat recipe in their back pocket that looks fancy and doesn’t need to take all day to make. Amiright?

Okay here’s what to do.

First, melt some chocolate or almond bark. I like to use the microwave (because it’s easy).

Start with a minute. Then take it out and stir. Then microwave it some more, stirring every 15 seconds until it’s smooth.

You can also melt the chocolate using a double boiler on the stove. Just make sure you stir often and don’t overheat it.

Pour the chocolate over the popped popcorn and add a topping and a touch of sea salt (if you like). I think the sea salt brings out the flavor and makes the whole thing pop (another pun intended, haha).

Then place it on a parchment covered baking sheet and drizzle on additional chocolate if you like to give it that bit of extra fancy. I normally use a fork and just kinda shake like crazy. It makes a bit of a mess, but it does the job.

Let the whole thing sit until it hardens. It takes like 10-15 minutes, maybe. But you can speed it up in the fridge (5 minutes tops).

See I told you it was easy.

Now for those of you who like to complicate things like me, here are a few more tips and tricks.

What kind of popcorn?

Let’s talk about popcorn for a minute. All popcorn is not created equal. For recipes like this, I like to buy gourmet popcorn (called mushroom popcorn) (aff. link) because it makes the treat a little bit special. If you don’t want to use the gourmet popcorn, never fear. Regular popcorn will work just fine.

The mushroom popcorn just steps it up a notch and makes it perfect for gifting. In the picture below, you can see the difference between regular popcorn (on the left) and mushroom popcorn (on the right). The mushroom popcorn pops round and full and beautiful. It’s great to use for recipes where you pour a coating over the popcorn, like in this recipe.

A little tip so no one breaks a tooth

I like to remove as many of the unpopped kernels (or old maids) as possible after popping and here’s a little tip.

Take a cooling rack and place it on top of the popcorn bowl that is no wider than the rack. Turn it upside down over a sink or another bowl and shake your heart out. The unpopped kernels will fall to the bottom (sometimes a few kernels may be too big to fit through the rack, but they are easy to pull out if you slowly turn it right side up again.

What type of chocolate to use?

Okay if you learn one thing from this post, this is it. So pay attention.

I’ve learned the hard way that not all chocolate brands melt the same.

Melting white chocolate chips has given me nothing but grief so I tend to avoid them like the plague.

If you are using milk chocolate or candy melts, make sure to use a good brand. They are more likely to seize with high temperatures (meaning the chocolate will get hard and chunky and never melt again).

I like trader Joe’s brand of pound plus bars for milk or dark (aff. links). Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips (aff. link) melt well. I like the ghirardelli white melting wafers (aff. link) for white chocolate. For candy melts I normally go with the name brand (as the off brands are usually junk) like Candiquick or Wilton but some almond bark brands work well too.

Just to be clear, the affiliate links to the products above are meant for reference. Keep in mind that they may be cheaper at a regular grocery store.

Favorite flavor combinations to try

Okay, now here’s the fun part! There are so many possibilities for fun flavor combos, but I’m going to share 5 of my favorites with you today. I’d love to hear in the comments if you come up with others.

Cookies & Cream: Mix popcorn with melted white vanilla melting wafers or white chocolate + 1/3 cup crushed oreo cookies (or any other cookies) + 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt. Then drizzle melted semisweet or dark chocolate on top (optional).

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Pretzel: Mix popcorn with melted semisweet or dark chocolate chips + 2/3 cup crushed pretzels + 1 tsp coarse sea salt. Then drizzle melted white chocolate on top (optional).

Toasted Vanilla Coconut: Mix popcorn with melted white vanilla melting wafers or white chocolate +2/3 cups crushed toasted coconut chips + 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt. Then drizzle melted semisweet or dark chocolate on top (optional).

White Toffee Crunch: Mix popcorn with melted white vanilla melting wafers or white chocolate + 1/3 to 1/2 cup Heath bar pieces + 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt. Then drizzle melted semisweet or dark chocolate on top (optional).

The Candy Cane Special – Mix popcorn with melted white vanilla melting wafers or white chocolate + 6 regular-sized peppermint candy canes crushed (about 1/3 cup) + few pinches of sea salt (optional).

I may have had a pantry cleanout party while making this post. In fact when my teenage son came home from school that day he eyed my giant bag of treats that rivaled Santa Claus’s sack and said, “oh look what Mom spent her day doing.”

Little did he know how easy it was.

And the neighbors loved it.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat

Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.