If you are looking for a festive snack that kids will love, then try this Christmas Popcorn. It's great for feeding a crowd too. Full of all the best festive flavours, easy to adapt and ready in just 10 minutes. Popped corn smothered in a sweet and buttery chocolate sauce with hints of orange, ginger and cinnamon.
Snacks don't tend to get given a lot of thought at Christmas time, because there is so much other food to think about with the turkey, side dishes and desserts. However if you have guests staying, you might be looking for snacks to keep them topped up until the next meal time, especially if there are kids around.
This Christmas Popcorn is so easy, so you don't need to spend any extra time in the kitchen. Just pop the corn and coat it in this really easy sauce. It's easy to adapt to change it up with your own personal favourite Christmas flavours.
Looking for some other delicious snacks to try? Why not try our Roasted Chickpeas, Healthy Flapjacks or Peanut Butter Banana Muffins.
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Why you will love it
- The perfect Christmas snack - When December comes, we are all about cinnamon. This is the perfect snack to have this festive season.
- Easy to adapt - We have added all of our favourite festive flavours, but feel free to adapt it to suit your own tastes.
- Quick - This recipe takes just 10 minutes to make.
- Stores well - this Christmas Popcorn keeps for well for 2-3 days, making it ideal for making in a big batch for snacking on over the festive season.
Step by step
One: Put the oil and corn in a large heavy pan with a lid on and put on a medium heat. After a few minutes, the corn will start to pop. Shake it every now and then to stop the corn burning to the pan. The popping will then start slowing down to every few seconds, rather than constant. Once it slows down to every 5-10 seconds, take it off the heat and tip in to a large bowl (to stop it from cooking).
Two: In a saucepan, add the butter and golden syrup and melt.
Three: Take off the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, orange zest, cinnamon and ginger.
Four: Pour the mixture over the popcorn and mix well.
Popcorn flavours
The great thing about this is that you can use this as a base recipe and then change it up to suit your own tastes. Don't like cinnamon? Leave it out and use more ginger, or use them both out and have it as chocolate orange popcorn.
You could add a pinch of cayenne if you like a kick to your popcorn. You could also swap the cocoa powder for melted chocolate, although it will give the popcorn a harder coating.
If we are making this for a lot of people, and we want to bulk it out a little (and make it more colourful), then we add some M&Ms, mini marshmallows and cranberries to it - kids love that. We have even put unicorn sprinkles in ours before.
Stick some candy canes in the popcorn once in the bowl for decoration and even more of a festive vibe.
Homemade Christmas Gift
I love a homemade Christmas gift. Not only does it save money, it saves buying someone something they probably don't want or will use and it shows that you have put some thought and love in to it too.
Everyone loves edible gifts, right? If you put this cinnamon popcorn in nice presentation bags/boxes, they would make lovely gifts for neighbours, teachers and friends. We always put a bag in food hampers that we make up for people.
What to serve this with
Our new Christmas Eve tradition is Christmas films in the afternoon with Snowman Hot Chocolates, a big bowl of this popcorn and Gingerbread Cupcakes.
We then all make individual Christmas Tree Pizzas before settling down in our new PJs to watch more films and open our Christmas Eve boxes.
We have even left some out for Santa in the past. I am sure he gets bored of cookies and mince pies after the 100th house. Why not make this Christmas popcorn part of your own Christmas Eve traditions.
FAQ
You can keep this popcorn in an air tight container for 2-3 days, any longer and it will affect the texture of the popcorn because of the coating on it.
However, if you end up making too much of this cinnamon popcorn, put some aside before you coat it and that will keep in an air tight container for a week or so and then you can add the flavours fresh when you are ready to eat it.
Plain popcorn is a delicious and nutritious snack because it is a whole grain and high in fibre. However, once you add flavours, it can bump up the calories and fat.
Plain popcorn is naturally gluten free. Just be careful of what toppings you add and make sure there is no cross contamination.
More Christmas recipes
If you’ve tried this Christmas popcorn recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Christmas Popcorn
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 80 g Corn kernels
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 2 tablespoon Golden syrup
- 2 tablespoon Cocoa powder
- 1 orange - zest only
- 0.5 teaspoon Fresh ginger
- 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Put the oil and corn in a large heavy pan with a lid on and put on a medium heat. After a few minutes, the corn will start to pop. Shake it every now and then to stop the corn burning to the pan. The popping will then start slowing down to every few seconds, rather than constant. Once it slows down to every 5-10 seconds, take it off the heat and tip in to a large bowl (to stop it from cooking).3 tablespoon vegetable oil, 80 g Corn kernels
- In a saucepan, add the butter and golden syrup and melt.2 tablespoon Butter, 2 tablespoon Golden syrup
- Take off the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, orange zest, cinnamon and ginger.2 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 1 orange, 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon Fresh ginger
- Pour the mixture over the popcorn and mix well.
Notes
- Feel free to get creative with the extra ingredients. Add as many colours and sprinkles as you like - this popcorn is meant to be fun and a little crazy.
- If you want to try a different flavour, swap the orange zest for some peppermint extract to make chocolate peppermint popcorn.
- Make these in to lovely homemade gifts by wrapping in cellophane bags (or eco-friendly alternatives) and wrapping with some festive ribbon.
- If you want to store this for more than a day and make it in advance, don't put the coating on it right away. Store the plain popcorn in an air tight container or zip lock bag and then put the coating on it when you are ready to eat it.
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
Now this is what I'm talking about! I love snacking on popcorn and this is such an unusual twist. Love the flavor combo!
Julie Weddell
What is "golden syrup"?
Dannii
Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts.
Jill
I love making homemade popcorn. This sounds like a terrific flavor combination!
Jo Allison
Wow! This popcorn sounds divine Dannii! Perfect little indulgence and it will make such a delicious snack for our holiday movie sessions. Love it!
Kushigalu
What a great recipe to try this Christmas. So delicious.
Natalie
Perfect treat for Christmas. So healthy too. I'm definitely making this.
Genevieve
This sound amazing! Similar to Monster Mash, super yummy!
Tammy
What a fun snack treat to make for the holidays! I love popcorn...perfect for all my favorite Christmas shows :D
Anita
This will be so perfect for Christmas, especially if we decide to watch movies after Christmas dinner. :)
Tatiana
I love chocolate popcorn! The photos look soooo yummy! Great idea to make a christmas version of it, I'm totally gonna try it.
Danielle Wolter
Ummmm yes please!! This is something I need in my life. Love the idea of adding a pinch of cayenne. Sounds delish!
Safira
Great idea and so festive. Can't wait to try it. Love the flavours.
Erica Schwarz
My family loved this! Thanks for the great recipe.
Adrianne
Oh yum!! This is so perfect for Christmas!! I love the fun theme and the orange zest sounds like a perfect additional touch. Can't wait to try it, cheers!
Anjali
This recipe is absolutely perfect for the holiday season!! I made this for my whole family and it was a huge hit!
Irena
Do you use fresh ginger or groud?
Can i use maple syrup insead of the golden one?
Dannii
Ground ginger. You can try maple syrup, but it isn't as sticky as golden syrup.