If you are a fan of the sweet and salty flavor combination, this is the perfect treat for you. Buttered popcorn wrapped in gooey marshmallow and filled with whatever candy you desire (my favorite is peanut M&M’s). This recipe is as easy as rice Krispies but personally, I think they are a whole lot better (seriously rice Krispies, you better watch your back).
Just interested in the recipe? Skip straight to it.
My mom is so ‘classic mom’ she could be used as inspiration for a movie character. She is super crafty and can make anything taste good. People are always drooling over her food and it is considered an honor if she makes something special for you (and I’m not just saying this because I know she reads my posts 😉 ). Growing up she always made a plethora of candies and treats during the holidays to give to neighbors, friends, and family and she was known for it around the neighborhood. Over the years, she has accumulated an arsenal of recipes that are quick and easy, but sure to impress. Not only did everything taste amazing, but they looked great too. She always went over the top packaging everything with cute tags and twisted ribbons, a true DIYer’s dream.
Marshmallow popcorn balls have always been my mother’s go to. They take about 20 minutes to whip up and are super customizable. She recommends adding roasted nuts, M&M’s, Reese Pieces, and plenty of other candy too. She usually tries to get her hands on the red and green M&M’s to amp up the Christmas vibes. Other things you could do are add chopped up chocolate candy bars, or drizzle with chocolate. Really anything would go!
If you haven’t already, check out my post about making food gifts safely. This is part of the Sleigh the Holiday Season series, so check that out for more candy recipes. If you are interested in more recipes by my mother, check out the series here.
Recipe
Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

Buttered popcorn wrapped in gooey marshmallow and filled with your favorite candy.
Ingredients
- 15 oz of mini marshmallows (melt quicker, but normal size works fine too)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 2 bags buttered microwave popcorn (nothing fancy, just buttered)
- 1 cup peanut M&M’s or other mix-ins of your choice
Directions
1. Pop the corn. Pop the bags of popcorn according to the package directions. Once finished popping, shake the bags well to get the unpopped kernels to fall to the bottom of the bag. Use clean hands (or gloved) and take handfuls of the popped popcorn out and place into a large bowl. Shake the bag every so often and keep scooping until all the popcorn is out. This method ensures there are no hard kernels in the finished treats, which would not be the type of surprise you’d want to bite into.2. Melt the mallows. In a medium saucepan over low heat melt the butter. Once the butter is fully melted add in the marshmallows. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon over low heat until the marshmallows have fully melted. Remove from heat and pour the melted marshmallows over the popcorn.
3. Stir. Stir the popcorn and marshmallow mixture until almost combined I like to use a wooden spoon and fold the marshmallow into the popcorn to prevent squishing the popcorn. Once almost combined add in the peanut M&M’s and fold in to combine. Do not add candy in while marshmallow is noticeably hot (warm is fine), it could make the dye run off the M&M’s (or it could melt other candy you are using).
3. Shape into balls. With freshly cleaned hands (or gloved) roll a small amount of popcorn into a ball and place onto wax paper. You don’t want to roll them so loose that they fall apart when you set them down, but you don’t want them too tight/dense. If they are sticking really badly to your hand lightly wet them to roll or use a small bit of unflavored oil. You can make these any size you like, but make sure they aren’t so big you can’t get a bite out of it. My mom sometimes makes these in a cupcake tin, or in a cake pan (she cuts them into squares to eat).
4. Let cool. Once you have finished shaping the balls, leave them for 15 minutes to cool before packaging up. Do not leave these out to cool for longer than an hour or they may become stale and things could accidentally stick to them. I packaged mine in these bags.
5. Enjoy! Leave some out for yourself and enjoy 🙂 .
6. Storage. These are good at room temperature for about 2 weeks if they even last that long. I don’t recommend refrigerating them as it may cause textural issues with the treats.
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Wow, looking tasty!
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Thanks! 😊
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