Chocolate Cherry Popcorn is a delicious treat made with cherry Kool-Aid and a melted chocolate drizzle. This popcorn recipe is perfect as a snack or dessert and it is also super easy to make!

HOW LONG DOES CHOCOLATE CHERRY POPCORN LAST?

In our house, it never lasts long but that could also be because I usually reserve it for large holiday parties where there are multiple guests. For best results, I recommend eating it within a week, but once you taste how yummy it is, that shouldn’t be an issue.

Popcorn coated with cherry kool-aid and drizzled with melted chocolate

WHAT KIND OF POPCORN DO YOU USE TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHERRY POPCORN?

You can use microwave popcorn, air-popped popcorn, or you can use my favorite stove-popped popcorn that is made with coconut oil. I haven’t used microwave popcorn in quite a while. At first it was because of the fact that I kept reading things about how it was so bad for you, but then once I started making my own popcorn on the stove, I realized how much better fresh popcorn tastes! If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s so easy and it’s so much yummier too.

Ingredients in Chocolate Cherry Popcorn

Water – Pretty simple ingredient. Just a little bit of water is needed to add the necessary moisture for the popcorn coating.

Butter – You’ll need half of a stick of butter. Butter with popcorn is pretty much a necessity, even when you’re sweetening it up!

Sugar – Yep, that’s a lot of sugar. But it makes a lot of popcorn. And it’s a treat. So it’s fine.

Salt – A little bit of salt really helps all the other flavors to pop.

Kool-Aid – You’ll need one Kool-Aid packet. I use cherry because I love chocolate and cherry together, but you can use any flavor you’d like.

Popcorn – You need about 14-16 cups of popped popcorn, so you’ll need to make about 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels.

Semi-sweet chocolate chips – The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but you can use the whole bag (2 cups) if you’d like.

Shortening – Just a tablespoon of shortening is needed to help thin out the chocolate enough to make it easier to drizzle.

How to make Chocolate Cherry Popcorn

Pop the popcorn. You can do this on the stove or in the microwave. If you use microwave popcorn, try to use a variety that does not have added butter or salt as this will affect the flavor of the recipe.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt, stirring until dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and let sit for about 30 seconds, or until it stops bubbling.

Add Kool-Aid mix to the mixture and stir until well combined.

Place the popcorn in a large bowl (or 2 large bowls if necessary) and pour the mixture over the top. Make sure to continuously mix the popcorn while pouring so that the popcorn can get evenly coated.

Keep stirring until all of the popcorn is evenly coated. Spread popcorn onto the parchment lined baking sheets.

Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir again until completely melted and smooth. Drizzle over popcorn and let the chocolate cool and harden before breaking it all up and storing in an airtight container. Or just eat it immediately- that works too!

HOW TO POP THE POPCORN ON THE STOVE:

Place 2 Tbsp coconut oil in a large stockpot (mine is 12 quarts and works perfectly).

Put about 5 popcorn kernels in the oil and heat over medium-high heat (with the lid on!) until the kernels start to pop. At this point, add the rest of the kernels, replace the lid and wait until all of the kernels start popping. While the kernels are popping, I usually give the pan a good shake every 30-45 seconds until there is more than 3-4 seconds between pops. At this point, the popcorn is ready! Remove from heat and transfer to 1 or 2 large bowls.