Valentine Popcorn Balls

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Although we’ve been focused on keeping Valentine’s Day a little healthier this year, what is a celebration of love if you leave out all of the sweets.  These Valentine popcorn balls are filled with salty and sweet goodness.  They are easy to make and you can package them for class Valentines or even favors for the kids to take home after a Valentine’s Day party.

For our version of these Valentine popcorn balls, we mixed sprinkles, shredded coconut and melted marshmallow goodness with popped popcorn.  For simplicity sake, I decided to use microwave natural popcorn.  Although it had just the right amount of salt, I found the unpopped kernels to be an issue.  If you decide to use microwave popcorn, be sure to sift out the kernels before adding any of the goodies.

How to Make Valentine Popcorn Balls

You Will Need:

1 bag of popped popcorn (5 to 6 cups)

1/2 cup of butter

1 bag of mini marshmallows

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 to 3 drops of red food coloring (I do not recommend using food gel for this recipe since it’s color is too red… unless you would like red instead of pink)

Valentine’s Day Sprinkles (affiliate)

1/4 teaspoon of salt (optional – our popcorn was salty enough without this step)

1/4 cup of shredded coconut flakes

non-stick baking spray

large baking dish (affiliate)

1. Pop a bag of microwave popcorn or air popped popcorn.  Sift out the unpopped kernels and place the popcorn in a greased baking dish.

2. Toss with sprinkles and shredded coconut.

3.  On the stove, melt 1/2 cup of butter and 1 bag of mini marshmallows.  Stir often.  Once melted, take off of the heat and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

4. Add 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring to the marshmallow mixture.  Stir until you get your desired color of pink.

5.  Pour the marshmallow mixture over the popcorn.  Mix using your hands.  Be cautious about how hot the marshmallow mixture is.  Let cool a little before mixing together if it is still super hot.

6.  Using your hands, form popcorn balls about the size of a tennis ball.  Let cool and harden for one hour.

You can package your popcorn balls package in 4″ x 6″ clear cello bags (affiliate).  I trimmed off the top to make the bags a little shorter.  Then, I tied the top with some festive peppermint baker’s twine (affiliate) and attached a Valentine’s Day tag from our shop.

These little treats would make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for teachers, class Valentines or even a treat at a Valentine’s Day dessert table.  It’s definitely the time of year to spread some popcorn love!

Want to save this recipe to make later?  Be sure to pin it below.

Happy Celebrating,

Natalie