Add a rich and creamy coating of peanut butter and chocolate to crunchy popcorn. 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.
When choosing mix-ins to go into my classic White Chocolate Popcorn, I couldn't resist adding peanut butter. Peanut butter pairs amazingly well with popcorn and it tastes even better when a little chocolate is added to the mix.
If you love peanut butter, this recipe is for you. It's made with three types of peanut butter: creamy peanut butter, peanut butter cups, and peanut butter chips.
With each handful of popcorn, you will enjoy the rich and creamy flavor of peanut butter and the crisp texture of the popcorn. I love making batches to serve for our movie nights but I also enjoy packaging the popcorn to give as gifts or to sell.
Ingredients
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. I highly recommend using Mushroom Popcorn as it pops up into big fluffy pieces.
peanut butter - Use your favorite creamy peanut butter. I like Jif.
peanut butter chips - Reese's Peanut Butter Chips are easy to find in most grocery stores. They have a robust peanut butter flavor.
white chocolate chips - I recommend using Nestle Premier White Morsels in this recipe. The white chips have a nice vanilla flavor and will harden nicely once melted and cooled. If you can't find them, then use 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 as it won't harden properly once mixed with the peanut butter chips and peanut butter.
See my Chocolate Making Tips page for detailed information about the different types of chocolate and how to melt and temper them.
salt - Adding a pinch of salt will enhance the peanut butter flavor and balance out the sweetness.
chocolate - Use dark compound chocolate to drizzle over the top like Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts. If you use pure dark chocolate instead, be sure to temper it (heat and cool the chocolate to exact temperatures).
mini peanut butter cups - Buy mini peanut butter cups and 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 the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in quarters as they are larger than the Trader Joe's candies.
Instructions:
Combine peanut butter chips, white chips, peanut butter, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl.
Heat on high power for 30-second bursts of power, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.
If you don't have a microwave, you can melt the ingredients using a double boiler on the stove. Simply, fill a pan with 1 inch of water. Set a snug-fitting bowl and top filled with the ingredients. Heat on low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
Pour popped popcorn into a large mixing bowl. Pour the melted peanut butter mixture over the popped popcorn and toss to coat. Do not mix for too long or the peanut butter coating will harden.
Pour the peanut butter popcorn out onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spread into an even layer.
Immediately, sprinkle the mini chocolate peanut butter cups over the peanut butter-coated popcorn. Tap the pan 3 times on the counter to ensure the candies stick.
Pour melted compound chocolate/candy melts into a disposable pastry bag or zip-top bag. Snip off the tip of the bag and drizzle it over the popcorn.
Place the popcorn in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until the peanut butter coating and the chocolate have hardened.
Break up the popcorn into small chunks. Serve as a snack or package to give as a gift or to sell.
Substitutions
I don't recommend swapping out any of the ingredients in this peanut butter popcorn recipe but you can use all peanut butter chips and no white chips if you prefer a more robust peanut butter flavor or you can use all white chocolate and no peanut butter chips if you prefer a sweeter flavor.
Variations
Instead of adding peanut butter cups, you can add chocolate sea shells and sandy-looking cookie crumbs to make this fun Beach Pail filled with Popcorn.
Or you can swap out Twix candy bars for the chocolate peanut butter cups to make Twix Popcorn. I served this yummy white chocolate peanut butter popcorn in an edible white chocolate popcorn bowl for a movie night party and it was a huge hit!
Tips
- Be sure to remove un-popped kernels from your popcorn. I pop my popcorn into a large bowl, then I shake the bowl allowing the unpopped kernels to fall to the bottom of the bowl. Then, I scoop the popcorn out using my hands, allowing the unpopped kernels to remain in the bottom of the bowl. I place the popped popcorn into another bowl.
- When you toss the melted peanut butter mixture with the popcorn, mix only until the popcorn is coated. If you mix for too long, the candy coating will begin to harden.
- Be sure to sprinkle the peanut butter cups over the popcorn while the peanut butter coating is still wet.
- When you break up the popcorn, don't break it into pieces that are too small as the peanut butter cups can fall off. Keep it in larger chunks. If too many of the candy pieces do fall off, you can use melted compound chocolate to attach them to the popcorn.
Storage
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.
You can package the popcorn in cellophane bags but it will only stay fresh at room temperature for about a week. If you place the bags of popcorn into a tin, it will stay fresh for up to 2 months.
Do not store your peanut butter popcorn in the refrigerator or freezer. It will get soggy and sticky.
More chocolate popcorn recipe ideas:
Recipe
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.
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