This peanut butter popcorn is coated in a creamy blend of white chocolate and peanut butter and it's drizzled with dark chocolate and speckled with mini peanut butter cups. It's easy to make for a snack or to give as a gift.
When choosing mix-ins to go into my classic White Chocolate Popcorn, I couldn't resist adding peanut butter which is one of my top five favorite foods.
Peanut butter pairs amazingly well with popcorn and it tastes even better when a little chocolate is added to the mix.
Years ago I shared a recipe to make peanut butter popcorn speckled with Twix candy bars which I served in an edible white chocolate popcorn bowl. It was a huge hit!
Later, I shared a recipe to make peanut butter popcorn filled with chocolate seashells that I served in a pail at a beach-themed graduation party.
Today, I'll show you how to make peanut butter popcorn filled with mini peanut butter cups. If you love peanut butter, this recipe is for you. It has three types of peanut butter in it.
Not only is there creamy peanut butter in this recipe, but it's also made using Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and mini peanut butter cups.
This is an easy recipe that can be made for a quick movie-night snack but it also can be packaged to give as gifts for Christmas or any special occasion.
Tips for making peanut butter popcorn?
- Pop your popcorn in an air popper (my preferred method), on the stovetop, or in the microwave. Or, just buy already popped popcorn from the store. Do not use buttered popcorn as the peanut butter coating won't stick well to buttered popcorn.
- Be sure to remove any un-popped kernels from your popcorn.
- Use Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and Nestle Premier White Morsels along with creamy peanut butter and a pinch of salt to make the peanut butter coating. If you can't find these items at your store, be sure to use another brand of peanut butter chips and any white compound chocolate made with palm kernel oil like Wilton Candy Melts or Ghirardelli White Melting Wafers. Do not use pure white chocolate made with cocoa butter. It won't blend well with the peanut butter chips.
- Use dark compound chocolate to drizzle over the top like Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers. If you use pure dark chocolate instead, be sure to temper it (heat and cool the chocolate to exact temperatures).
- Buy mini peanut butter cups then cut them into small pieces. I used Trader Joe's Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and cut them in half but Reese's Cups Minis will work great too. You just may want to cut them in quarters as they are larger than the Trader Joe's candies.
Let's make some peanut butter popcorn.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Let me know in the comments below what you think about this yummy popcorn.
Crunchy popcorn is coated in a blend of creamy peanut butter, white chocolate, and peanut butter chips, then it's drizzled with dark chocolate and sprinkled with mini peanut butter cups.
- 10 cups popped popcorn (about 2 ounces)
- 1 cup Nestle Premier White Morsels, or 6 ounces of white compound chocolate/candy melts
- ¾ cup Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, or 4 ounces of peanut butter candy melts
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 ounces Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts
- ¾ cup chopped mini chocolate peanut butter cups (Trader Joe's or Reese's)
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Pour the popped popcorn into an extra-large mixing bowl. Be sure to remove any un-popped kernels.
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Combine the white chips, peanut butter chips, peanut butter, and a pinch of salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Then, pour the Ghirardelli Dark Melting wafers into a small microwave-safe bowl.
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Heat both bowls at the same time for 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. The dark coating will melt much more quickly than the other bowl. Remove it once it has melted.
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Alternatively, you can melt your peanut butter coating ingredients on the stovetop in a double boiler set over low heat. Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water and set a tight-fitting bowl over the pan so the bowl doesn't touch the water. Pour the peanut butter chips, peanut butter, and a pinch of salt into the bowl. Stir often until melted. Do the same for your dark chocolate.
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Pour the peanut butter coating over the popcorn and toss just until all the popcorn is coated. Don't stir for too long or the coating will begin to harden.
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Spread the peanut butter popcorn on the parchment paper-lined baking tray.
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Immediately, drizzle with the dark chocolate and sprinkle on the chopped peanut butter cups pushing them onto the popcorn if needed to ensure they stick.
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Refrigerate for 15 minutes until the peanut butter coating and dark chocolate harden.
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Remove and break the popcorn into large chunks.
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If any of the peanut butter cups fall off, you can melt some more dark chocolate and use it to attach them to the popcorn.
Store this peanut butter popcorn in a metal popcorn tin for up to 2 months or in a plastic airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
If you store the popcorn in a bag, it will begin to get soggy after about a week. I highly recommend storing the popcorn in tins. It will stay freshest that way.
More chocolate popcorn recipe ideas:
- Peppermint Popcorn
- White Chocolate Popcorn
- OREO Popcorn
- Dark Chocolate Popcorn
- Candy Bar White Chocolate Popcorn
- Winter Wonderland "FROZEN" Popcorn
- Sweet and Salty Popcorn with peanuts, potato chips, and pretzels
- White Chocolate Popcorn Bowl
- Homemade Chocolate Easter Bunnies - April 3, 2023
- Mini Basketball Cheeseburgers - February 15, 2023
- Snowman Popcorn Bucket - December 24, 2022
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