Red Velvet Popcorn
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyThe other night I had this genius (and what I thought to be original) idea to make red velvet popcorn. I’ve seen other flavors of popcorn floating around the net, plus with Valentine’s Day on the horizon, it sounded like a pretty epic idea. I should have known better. Someone (well, several someones) beat me to the punch.
On Instagram, I posted a screen shot of the handful of red velvet popcorn recipes I found on Pinterest. I was feeling a little deflated. However thanks to some encouragement from some of Instagram followers, I decided to try the recipe out for myself.
After digging a little deeper, I found the person who seems to have created the recipe. And, to my surprise, I know her! The fabulous Shelly of Cookies and Cups is the genius behind this yumminess. I had the pleasure of meeting Shelly last fall on my trip to Oregon. If you have yet to discover her site, you’re missing out. Seriously. She makes things like Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies and Oreo Icebox Cake. I kid you not. Pure deliciousness. So once you’ve read this post, why not head on over there and say hello. Her pictures are gorgeous, too.
Before we get into the details of how to make this lovely confection, I need to warn you. It’s unbelievably delicious. Now, I know I say that about a lot of things, but this stuff is super duper tasty. I’m trying to be good about what I eat, so it took every bit of my self-control not to push my entire face into this as it was drying on the counter. Seriously.
Anyway, to make this you will need to bake a red velvet cake. I just used the box variety. If you follow the recipe below, you’re only going to need about 1/3 of the cake, which is kind of an ideal situation. I just whipped up a quick batch of frosting and sent the rest of the cake to my grandparents. They were happy. You could also make a bigger batch of the popcorn and use more of the cake. Either way, it’s clearly a win-win situation.
To crumble the cake, just use your fingers. It’s a piece of cake. Pun intended.
I also added a little Crisco to my chocolate when melting it. It seems to keep the chocolate softer when it dries.
I promise you, this tastes as good as it looks.
I just packaged mine in some cello bags I picked up at Walmart (in the wedding section) and tied each bag up with some coordinating ribbon I had on hand. It’s that simple.
This would obviously make a super cute Valentine’s treat. But I always like giving gifts “just because” so it would certainly work for that as well. Whoever you give it to will be overjoyed!
Well folks, I’m signing off for the weekend. I hope you have a fabulous one. I’m going to be busy with some cleaning, organizing, and maybe a project or two. What are you up to?
Red Velvet Popcorn
Ingredients
- 8 cups popped popcorn 1/2 cup unpopped kernels (OR you could do what I did and pop two standard-size bags of popcorn in the microwave.)
- 3 cups red velvet cake crumbs about 1/3 of a 9 x 13 cake
- 22 oz. white chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shorting (Crisco)
Instructions
- First pop your popcorn using an air popper or the stove. Again, you can cheat like I did and just use the microwave variety. (I used plain fat-free popcorn.)
- Next, melt your white chocolate chips along with the Crisco in a double broiler on the stove.
- Transfer your popcorn to a large bowl, making sure to remove any unpopped kernels. Pour the melted chocolate over the popcorn and stir to coat completely.
- Pour the popcorn onto a waxed paper lined service and sprinkle with your red velvet crumbs. To get a heavy crumb coating turn the popcorn over with a spoon and sprinkle again with the red velvet crumbs. Repeat this step until you’re happy with the coverage.
- Let the chocolate set before eating or packaging.
Wow! The red velvet popcorn sounds wonderful. I receive cookies and cups recipes and yours also. Yes, Shelley does have some great recipes, as you do as well. Thanks for sharing the popcorn recipe.
Would love to be able to print the recipe, but don’t see a way to get just the recipe, can you add that feature?
Thanks for letting me know about this. The Print Feature has been fixed. I hope that helps!
xo Michael
Perfect give away gift for showers and even weddings! Definitely keeping this in mind for my next party I plan! Or maybe I can just make these for myself 🙂 Thanks for sharing! This looks divine!
Oh, we’ve featured your recipe in our gourmet popcorn collection for our readers to enjoy! https://www.momooze.com/gourmet-popcorn-recipes/
This looks amazing! How long is the shelf life?
I tried this recipe last night. While the taste was amazing, my popcorn was soggy. Did I do something wrong? We are having a Christmas party and would love to have this on my dessert bar.
Thanks.
Loved this recipe! added crushed up oreos for some crunch and extra chocolate- delicious!!
Tried the recipe and it turned out beautiful and delicious! My only problem was that after a day the popcorn lost it’s crunchiness 🙁 I was going to pack this up and send it to my fiancé for Valentine’s Day, so pretty disappointed. Any pointers?
Zena, so sorry about that! As with any popcorn, an airtight container will help keep the popcorn as fresh as possible. So sealing the bad or putting it in an airtight container would help keep it crunchier.
Hope that helps!
xo Michael
This looks UH-MAZING. I cannot wait to try it for Valentine’s Day!
I wonder how this would taste with cream cheese emulsions in the white chocolate. Yuuuuum 🙂
OMG this is the best thing I have seen in while! You sure rocked it with this one!!! 🙂
Awww! You’re too sweet Jessica! Thanks. 🙂
xo Michael
Wow upon wow, this is pure genius, Michael!!! 🙂
Awww! Thank you Julie!! 🙂
xo Michael
Thanks for inspiring me Michael!! I always look forward to your newest post. Have a great weekend.
I am a huge sucker when it comes to anything red velvet! Such a delicious cake. With popcorn being my favorite go-to snack to munch on this is THE perfect combination. Your version is on of the best I’ve found thus far that hasn’t turned out to be a complete disaster. The sweet idea of somehow adding cream cheese into the mix sounds impossible yet amazing. I don’t think the cream cheese would hold up unless you added a ratio of it into the chocolate. I’m probably not sounding like a woman when I say this but I don’t particularly like chocolate. I may have to add part cream cheese to see how the concoction turns out!
Thank you again for posting this! 🙂
– Emily
Thanks so much Emily! I saw the cream cheese version and seriously considered trying that. However, I was concerned with shelf life. I’m weird with those kinds of things. Have cream cheese would it need to be refrigerated? I don’t know. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out.
xo Michael
So I tried it out and did it in two different scenarios. I put the first batch in a gallon ziplock bag and let it sit in the freezer for 15 minutes. Took it out and it held shape and did not melt. The second batch I put in the fridge for 15 minutes in an air tight container and took it out and it melted! So the 15 minutes in the freezer seemed to give it that extra “oomph” of molding it.
But back to the recipe, I added 1/2 cup of cream cheese at room temperature to 2 1/2 cups of chocolate. It turned out to be delicious!
Another idea I came up with is adding the imitation of cream cheese flavoring into the chocolate but I have no idea how strong of a flavor it will be!
~Emily
Thanks for reporting back! I’m glad you found some success with it! Yay!
xo Michael
You knocked it out of the park!!!! Home run!!!! I tend to go to my favorite blogs for inspiration… (Ok and Pinterest) so see… I never would have known about this fabulous popcorn if it weren’t for you!!! Do you think the paraffin flakes used for dipping chocolate would work the same as the crisco? They have no flavor… Just curious… Oh!!!! And I love Valentines Day!!! I think it’s not just for couples…. I think it’s a great day to show all your friends and family a little love!!! This world can use a little more love….
Thanks for the inspiration Mr. Charm…… And have a great weekend with those projects!!!!
Could I use ghiradelli white melting wafers? I I bought a bag at Christmas and never used them…a
I want to say yes. I ALWAYS use Ghiradelli when it comes to chocolate. It’s the best I can get in this area. I used their chips for this recipe, but I assume the wafers are essentially the same.
xo Michael
This looks so good! I mean, what’s not to like about cake and popcorn? And I will tell you my secret: sometimes when I have a fabulous original idea, I don’t google it…just so that I don’t get discouraged. It helps to not crush my soul.
Awesome blog, by the way!
I know. I need to stop googling things. It’s never good. Thanks so much for the sweet compliments. 🙂
xo Michael
This looks SO good! that is a great idea to give out for Valentine’s Day (or Christmas, but that’s a a long way off).
Hahaha. Yes, let’s not start thinking about Christmas just yet. 😉
xo Michael
This looks unbelievably delicious — and indulgent without being too over the top! I love the idea of packaging it up for buddies on Valentine’s Day. The preschool part of me still wants to hand out a little something to friends and coworkers . . . the wheels are turning. Happy weekend!
That’s so funny Meg! I’m actually not a big fan of Valentine’s Day, but I have this strange desire this year to hand out little treats to everyone. What’s happening to me!? Haha.
xo Michael
Good Morning Michael,
Looks LOVELY, I am sure it smells it too! I wonder how it would go with my morning coffee? Well done!
Have a great Weekend! Enjoy, Christine
Um, I think it would be pretty perfect with morning coffee. Highly recommended.
Have a fab weekend too!
xo Michael
You’re popcorn looks fantastic!!! I try not to ever google anything anymore…it just shows how all my original ideas are completely not 🙂 And also I am totally jealous of your pictures….GORGEOUS!
Lesson learned Shelly. Either way, thank you for the fabulous inspiration!! I’m literally obsessed with this stuff and it was so fun to make! Thanks for the photography love too. It means so much coming from you. 🙂
xo Michael