Peppermint Bark Christmas Crunch

Whooooooooops sorry for my crazy absence last week! I wasn’t feelin’ so hot, food didn’t sound good, and I couldn’t bring myself to write delicious things about my recipes when they all sounded “blech” to me. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. I have three supa yummy recipes comin’ your way this week, though. So…forgive me? Forgive me if I tell you all about the delicious Christmas treat that is: PEPPERMINT BARK CHRISTMAS CRUNCH? Yasssss.

Christmas 4eva.

As I sit here and type this post, I am listening to Christmas music. So much love for this season, people. So much love. Anyway, Christmas Crunch. Christmas is a season of baking, eating, drinking, and doing all things Christmas alldayerryday. The problem is that I am an awful baker (working on that), so baking Christmas treats + Annie = a very messy kitchen and a very mediocre baked good. BUT! This Christmas Crunch requires zero baking. The most “cook-y” thing you do is pop popcorn, which – if I do say so myself – I have become quite a pro at over the years of making popcorn on a regular basis, drenching it with butter, and covering it with the Atlantic Ocean’s worth of salt…confessions.

So, what about this yummy treat/snack/meal(?) is Christmasy?

Well for one, the obvious reason, it’s very red and green! We’ve got multiple layers of red and green gettin’ all up in your bowl. The combination of red and green M&Ms and adorable red and green sprinkles make this little treat scream Christmas. Which is always a good thing…ALWAYS.

And then there’s the peppermint ?. Peppermint bark is a classic Christmas goodie, and it coats this salty and sweet mixture so perfectly, reminding you of Christmas with every bite.

Let’s talk about what all is in this Christmas Crunch, shall we?

• Popcorn (popped at home – if you don’t have a Whirly Pop, GET IN ON THAT ACTION and proceed to gain 15 pounds because you discovered the most delicious way in the world to eat popcorn. You’re welcome).
• Pretzels
• M&Ms
• Sprinkles
• White chocolate
• Peppermint Extract
• HAPPINESS

There is juuuuuust enough white chocolate in here to coat everything lightly, give a nice sweet, peppermint-y coating, and hold it together just a bit. The best part of this Christmas treat? The salty and sweet combo. Salty and sweet is the epitome of “a match made in heaven.” It’s just the perfect combination. The pretzels are salty, the candy and chocolate are sweet, the popcorn is just neutral but adds delicious crunch and flavor. So good.

So, since we are on the topic of Christmas treats, let’s talk about Christmas decorations. Have you put up your tree yet?? Lights?? Everything?? My life goal is for our house to be the obnoxiously decorated house in the neighborhood that everyone is slightly embarrassed of. Our power bill will be like a billion dollars buuuutttt, worth it.

That goal will not be achieved this year, but we did decorate the inside of our house a lot! We have a nice big tree and our kitchen cabinets are lined with garland. The decoration was a bit of a struggle, though. We decorated the same day that we flew home from our Thanksgiving vacation to North Carolina. So we got back sometime in the afternoon, immediately grabbed the Christmas stuff from the attic, lay it out, and got to work. We did the kitchen garland, which includes lights, ornaments, and picks, so that alone takes forever. After that, we put up the other random Christmas decorations that go all over our house, and then it was time for the tree.

We got in the car, headed to Lowe’s, pulled up, and saw that they didn’t have trees stood up that we could walk through, browse, and select. You just pick the height you want and they grab one that’s already tied up from their stock-pile. FALSE. That’s cheating. So we went to another place down the street that was perfectly Christmas-y and wonderful. It was decorated with lights, and the proceeds from the trees went to support local youth in the area. So happy. We found a perfect tree and bought it. And by “we,” I mean I helped pick it out and then sprinted to the car while Seth and the Christmas tree dudes tied it to our car. It was quite chilly outside. I was their moral support from inside the car.

So then we went back to Lowe’s to get our other stuff, started walking into the store, and a lady walking out told us to “Be careful! They’re  closing in a few minutes.” Nooo but we had so many things we needed to get. So we ran inside and split up, both grabbing a bunch of random stuff while they were turning off the lights, trying to kick us out (#awkward). We did end up getting most of the stuff we needed in time, checked out, and went home. And as we were walking in the front door, Seth dropped the tree topper we just bought on the ground and broke it…strug.

It ended up all working out, and now our house is perfectly Christmasy and wonderful ?❤️.

Just like this Christmas crunch! I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far ?. See ya on Wednesday, friends!

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Nutrition information is for 1/2 cup servings of Christmas Crunch.

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more Christmas treats? Check these out:

Single Serving Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Peppermint Bark Oreo Pops

Mexican Hot Chocolate Truffle Balls