Peppermint Bark Popcorn!

Happy Holidays! This past weekend I went to a holiday party and was in charge of bringing an "appetizer" - nothing I had made before sounded good and so, Peppermint Bark Popcorn was born. I guess you could call it something fun like Reindeer Munch - my kids could have eaten this entire bowl, instead the party guests did! It was a major hit - I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
2 bags white chocolate chips
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp peppermint extract
1 6oz box of Bob's Candy Canes, crushed
30 cups air popped popcorn
Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Pop 30 cups of popcorn, set aside.
2. Melt white chocolate chips, on low in the microwave - stir every minute, until smooth.
3. Add 2 tsp peppermint extract and stir - it is normal for extract to make chocolate mixture a bit lumpy so work fast.
4. In HUGE bowl (I used a pot) put 2/3 of the popcorn, about 20 cups and mix in melted peppermint-white chocolate chips. Use your hands and really mix it up, you don't want large hunks of chocolate when it dries. Careful not to crush the popcorn.
5. Lay out wax paper, and spread covered popcorn.
6. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
7. Melt the semi sweet chocolate chips, using same method above. Using a fork, dip into the chocolate and drizzle on top of popcorn.
8. Add salt (to desired saltiness) to the remaining 10 cups of popcorn. Combine with chocolate covered popcorn for a salt & sweet combination. I also added a hint of salt directly on top of the chocolate popcorn for this effect.
9. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes, longer if you can - put in a bowl and enjoy, or a large Ziploc bag to save. This will store for about 4 days uneaten until the popcorn starts to get chewy.

Let me know if you have any questions! This recipe can be made to fit any portion - use the above as a guide and your instincts to know how to portion the ingredients.

Variations: add pretzels, chex mix or peanuts!