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I love to make snacks for our grandchildren, as I did for our girls when they were young. This Patriotic Popcorn Snack is not only tasty, but it’s colored with Red, White, and Blue, making it the perfect way to celebrate the 4th of July.
(Post modified on 6/25/23.)
As a BONUS, kids love to help make this snack. Filled with popcorn coated in white chocolate, Skittles, M&M’s, Gummy Bears, and colorful sprinkles, this snack will give kids more sparkle than a firecracker!
When it comes to making popcorn snacks for my family, I like to use my Whirly Pop Popcorn Maker. It takes only a few minutes and creates the most delicious popcorn. Whether simply flavored with butter and salt, or glazed with sugar, there are few snacking moments more memorable than eating bowls of freshly popped popcorn as a child (or adult) and watching a movie.
My mom made popcorn nearly every weekend with one of these poppers when I was a girl, and she bought one for each of my brothers and me when we married. I have in turn, given Whirley-Pops to our daughters.
More Popcorn Snacks to Try
Ingredients for Patriotic Popcorn Snack
(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)
- yellow popcorn
- butter-flavored coconut oil
- popcorn seasoning salt
- white almond bark
- skittles (red, white, and blue)
- M&M’s chocolate candies (red, white, and blue)
- gummy bears (red, white, and blue)
- red, white, and blue sprinkles
- sprinkling sugar (red and blue)
A Note About Candies
When I was shopping for red, white, and blue candies, I had to really search the candy isles at the grocery store. Hopefully, you’ll find the needed patriotic colors in June, but if not, you may need to pick out reds and blues from your favorite candies as desired (like a bag of M&M’s). My Skittles appeared rather pink, and the gummy bears seem more green then blue. But it’s all good, and the kids loved it.
Instructions for Making This Recipe
Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. Lay out two baking sheets on a workspace or table.
Pop the Popcorn
I like to use a Whirly-Pop Popcorn Maker, but you may use your favorite method for making popcorn.
If desired, you may use microwaved popcorn for this recipe, although I’m not sure how many bags it would take. Possibly 4. You could also buy bags of popcorn that have already been popped, such as kettle corn.
Heat the Whirly-Pop pan on medium-high heat along with the butter-flavored coconut oil. Add 2-3 popcorn kernels to the pan and wait for it to pop. Once it pops, add the rest and begin to turn the wheel. Continue turning until the last kernel pops.
Deposit the popped popcorn in a large bowl or a big paper bag, which will allow plenty of room to stir the popcorn. Repeat with another batch of popcorn.
Prepare the Topping
Place chunks of the white almond bark in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30 second increments, until the bark has melted. Cook and stir until completely melted.
Reserve 1/4 of the almond bark for the last by pouring it into a small bowl.
Gradually pour the remaining melted almond bark over the popcorn. Using a long handled wooden spoon, stir the almond bark into the popcorn to mix well.
Sprinkle with Candy
Dump the popcorn out onto the two baking sheets, dividing equally. Sprinkle the skittles, M&M candies, gummy bears, and decorative sprinkles over the popcorn. Gently stir to combine. Finish with a dusting of sprinkling sugar over the top of the popcorn.
For an extra shot of delightful white chocolate, drizzle the reserved almond bark over the top of the popcorn.
This recipe will make enough for 6-8 people. Feel free to double the amount of ingredients for a larger party.
See more Snack Ideas Here. Browse more Kid-Friendly Recipes Here. View more Fourth of July Menu Ideas Here.
Patriotic Popcorn Snack
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow popcorn 1/2 cup per batch
- 4 tablespoons butter-flavored coconut oil 2 tablespoons per batch
- 1 teaspoon popcorn seasoning salt 1/2 teaspoons per batch
- 16 oz white almond bark
- 1 cup red, white, and blue skittles
- 1 cup red, white, and blue M&M's
- 1 cup red, white, and blue gummy bears
- 2 tablespoon red, white, and blue decorative sprinkles like stars
- 2 teaspoon red and blue sprinkling sugar
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. Lay out 2 baking sheets on a workspace or table.
- Pop the popcorn. I like to use a Whirly-Pop Popcorn Maker, but you may use your favorite method for making popcorn.
- Heat the Whirly-Pop pan on medium-high heat along with the butter-flavored coconut oil.
- Add 2-3 popcorn kernels to the pan and wait for it to pop. Once it pops, add the rest and begin to turn the wheel. Continue turning until the last kernel pops.
- Deposit the popcorn in a large bowl or a big paper bag, which will allow plenty of room to stir the popcorn. Repeat steps for a 2nd batch.
- Place chunks of the white almond bark in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30-40 second increments until the bark has melted. Cook and stir until completely melted.
- Reserve 1/4 of the almond bark for the last by pouring it into a small bowl.
- Gradually pour the remaining melted almond bark over the popcorn. Using a long handled wooden spoon, stir the almond bark into the popcorn to mix well.
- Dump the popcorn out onto two baking sheets, dividing equally.
- Sprinkle the skittles, M&M candies, gummy bears, and decorative sprinkles over the popcorn. Gently stir to combine. Finish with a dusting of sprinkling sugar over the top of the popcorn. For extra pops of white chocolate, pour the reserved almond bark over the popcorn. Allow popcorn to set until the almond bark has set and is no longer sticky.
- This recipe will make enough for 8-12 people. Feel free to double the amount of ingredients for a larger party.
