Halloween Popcorn with Chocolate Bugs

When I planned our Carnival of the Creepy Crawlers-themed party, I knew I had to serve some sort of popcorn - what carnival would be complete without it?

My guests always enjoy snacking on my white chocolate popcorn. I've served candy bar-filled chocolate popcorn, cookies and cream Halloween popcorn, and even peanut butter popcorn.  The bowls are always empty by the end of the party.

For this party, I decided it would be fun to sprinkle some chocolate roaches into plain white chocolate popcorn.

If you just can't stomach making or eating a chocolate roach, you should try making white chocolate popcorn.  It is crunchy and sweet and totally addicting.

Ingredients

popcorn - I prefer to pop my own popcorn using an air popper. I pop ⅓ cup of kernels to get about 10 cups of popcorn. It's important to remove any unpopped kernels before tossing the popcorn with white chocolate.

white confectionery coating and milk confectionery coating, also known as candy melts, melting wafers, or almond bark

OR melted and tempered pure white chocolate and pure milk chocolate

I used Peters White Confectionery Coating wafers to coat my popcorn but it's difficult to find unless you have a cake/candy decorating store in your area.

To make the white chocolate popcorn, you can also use:

• Merckens White Candy Coatings
• Wilton White Candy Melts
• Ghirardelli White Melting Wafers
• Nestle Premier White Morsels

For the roaches, you can use:

• Ghirardelli Milk Melting Wafers
• Merckens Coco Lite
• Wilton Light Cocoa Candy Melts

Before you begin: If you don't have much experience working with confectionery coating/candy melts or chocolate, you should read my chocolate-making tutorial. I give you a very detailed look at the types of chocolate and confectionery coating and how to melt and use them.

Supplies

air popper for the popcorn or a plain brown lunch bag and a microwave
extra large mixing bowl
2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper
squeeze bottle fitted with a #1 round pastry tip, a disposable pastry bag, or a zip-top bag
popcorn boxes, optional

Instructions:

Step 1 - Pop popcorn.

1. Pop ⅓ cup of popcorn kernels in an air popper.
   • If you don't have an air popper, then place your kernels in a plain brown lunch bag, fold the top of the bag over a few times, heat in the microwave on high power for 2-3 minutes until you hear the popping of the kernels slow to one to two pops per second.
   • Times will vary because every microwave heats differently.
   • However you pop your popcorn, you'll want to place the popped kernels in a very large mixing bowl and discard any unpopped kernels.

If you prefer you can use 10 cups of store-bought popcorn.

Step 2 - Melt the confectionery coating (candy melts).

• To melt the white confectionery coating: heat on high in the microwave for three 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each.
• If the coating is not all melted, heat for 10-second increments, stirring after each until melted.
• For more detailed instructions and step-by-step pictures read my chocolate-making tutorial.

Step 3 - Toss white chocolate with popcorn.

1. Pour melted white chocolate over your popped popcorn.
2. Use a large spatula or spoon to gently fold the popcorn and coating just until the popcorn is covered in the coating.
   • If you stir for too long, the coating will begin to harden and you will end up with spikes of coating on your popcorn.

Step 4 - Spread popcorn on a parchment paper-lined pan.

1. Pour popcorn onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Spread it into an even layer.
3. Refrigerate for 10 minutes until the coating is hardened.
4. Remove from refrigerator and break up into small chunks.
5. Place in popcorn boxes, if using.

Step 5 - Melt chocolate and print the roach template.

1. Melt your candy melts (confectionery coating).
2. Heat in the microwave on high for 15 seconds, then stir, 15 more seconds, then stir, then for 10-second increments, stirring after each, until melted. You can also melt the wafers in a double boiler. If you prefer, melt and temper pure milk chocolate.
3. Print out the roach template (click on the link and you'll be connected to a PDF file of the roach.)

Step 6 - Make chocolate roaches.

1. Place the image under a sheet of parchment paper that is set on a baking sheet.
2. Pour melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle or piping bag fitted with a #1 round pastry tip (or fill a disposable pastry bag or zip-top bag with the chocolate and snip off a very small amount of the tip of the bag - allowing only a small amount of chocolate to be piped.)
3. Begin by piping the antenna.
4. Next, pipe on the legs.
5. Then, pipe on the head and body.
6. Carefully move the image of the roach over a few inches and pipe another roach.

Step 7 - Add the chocolate roaches to the white chocolate popcorn.

1. Continue piping roaches until you have plenty (I made 36 and had several of them break). Be sure to reserve some of the melted chocolate to use as glue.
2. Refrigerate your roaches for 1-3 minutes just until they harden. If you leave them in too long, they will curl up quite a bit.
3. Gently peel them off of the parchment paper.
4. Pipe small amounts of the melted coating onto the backside of each roach and attach them to the popcorn, as well as, the outside of the boxes. I think they look great crawling all over the boxes.

You will probably need to re-heat your chocolate at some point.

If you are using a squeeze bottle with a plastic pastry tip, you can just place the entire bottle in the microwave and heat it on high for 10 seconds. If you use a metal pastry tip, remove it before putting the bottle in the microwave. If you are using a disposable pastry bag or zip-top bag, just put the filled bag in a tall glass and heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Storage

Store your Halloween popcorn in an airtight container (I suggest a metal tin) for up to 3 weeks. If you don't store it in an airtight container, it will start to lose its crunch.

Keep the popcorn in a cool, dry place away from any heat source.

Do not store it in the refrigerator.

More Halloween popcorn recipes.

Be sure to check out all of my fun popcorn recipes including these festive treats for Halloween.

Orange and Blake Cookies and Cream Popcorn

White Chocolate Popcorn Pumpkin Bowl

White Chocolate Popcorn Skulls