Cinnamon Cookie Crunch Popcorn

One of my favorite flavor combinations is cinnamon and chocolate. During my college days, I spent most of my paychecks on giant bags of chocolate covered cinnamon bears from the BYU book store. They are the BEST. I had those flavors in mind when I set out to make a munchable-sharable-irresistible treat with those same flavors. This sweet coated popcorn is studded with crushed red hots for bursts of cinnamon and crushed Oreo cookies for a crunchy, crumbly, chocolaty bite. I like to top mine with a little drizzle of semi-sweet or dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt. This Cinnamon Cookie Crunch Popcorn is good any time of the year, but especially fun for Valentine festivities!

Ingredients Needed

Popcorn – Natural or lightly salted works best. You’ll notice my kernels here are large and round, and that’s because I use Mushroom Popcorn. I just get it on Amazon!
Almond bark – Also known as vanilla flavored candy coating.
Oreo cookies – You’ll also need your crushed oreos. I’ve found I get a much better texture when I actually chop the cookies up finely with a large knife (as opposed to trying to also smash with a hammer).
Cinnamon flavored oil – You can use extract, but be aware that like in our Peppermint Bark Popcorn, it can cause the mixture to seize. It’s actually not a huge problem, it just looks scary. If it turns clumpy just pour it on the popcorn real fast and mix it all up. Cinnamon oil on the other hand is stronger with a crisper cinnamon flavor and it will stay nice and smooth and mix right in so if you can, use it over extract. You can find oils at kitchen supply stores, or at craft stores near the candy making supplies, or right here on Amazon– that’s the brand I use. I just love cinnamon so I like the extra pop of flavor, but I’m sure this would still be yummy without it!
Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Kosher salt
Red hots candies – I’m a huge fan of red hots. I personally think they’re totally unappreciated. I’m noticing they’re not carried as much by grocery stores, especially in February, so if you have trouble finding them, try Walgreens. My Walgreens carries them year round in boxes and I believe other similar drug stores would as well.

Since we don’t want to break our teeth here, we’re going to smash up those candies. Put them in a zip top bag and then give them a good whack with a meat mallet or hammer or something.

How to Make Cinnamon Cookie Crunch Popcorn

I like to put all my dry ingredients in a bowl so they’re ready to go. Add your popcorn, red hots and cookies to the biggest bowl you have. My absolute FAVORITE bowl is this giant one. It makes mixing popcorn recipes so easy! It’s the same bowl I talked about and showed you in my recent Strawberry Rice Krispie recipe.
Then you’ll just pour some almond bark over the popcorn. Almond bark has nothing to do with almonds, it’s simply white candy coating, similar to white chocolate.
Once the mixture is poured on the popcorn and stirred well to coat it all, spread out the popcorn on a big cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil, parchment, or a silicone baking mat and drizzle a little chocolate over the top.
After that, give everything a light sprinkle of kosher or sea salt. That’s a step some people skip on sweet recipes, but don’t! It balances out the flavors and enhances everything! Most sweet things are better with salt. I like sea salt on popcorn recipes, but kosher salt works great, too. My favorite is the little chunks of chocolate with flaked salt on them.
Let the chocolate harden completely. I usually pop the pan in the fridge, or outside on a cold day to help it along. When it’s all hardened, break it up into pieces and you’re good to go. You get little bits of crunchy cookies and bursts of cinnamon candy all with that creamy almond bark. It’s SO yummy and different and perfectly Valentine-y.

Storing and Other Tips

Store finished popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature. Candy-coated popcorn stays delicious for several days! Consume within one week for best results.
This popcorn makes great gifts! Fill small bags, jars, or bowls wrapped in plastic for family and friends. you can make these a day or two ahead of time.

Frequently Asked Questions

I only have butter flavored popcorn. Is that ok?

Any popcorn will be delicious! I prefer to use air popped, plain, or natural popcorn so the yellow butter color doesn’t come through, but if buttered is all you’ve got, go for it!

Can I add cinnamon powder?

Cinnamon oil and cinnamon powder have a bit of a different flavor. If you don’t have cinnamon oil, just let the red hots flavor the popcorn.