Christmas Popcorn

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.

Why should you try it?

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

Extra tips

• 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.

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Recipe

Christmas Popcorn

For a festive snack that kids will love, and great for a party, try this Christmas Popcorn. Full of festive flavors, easy to adapt and ready in 10 minutes.

Low Carb

Vegetarian

4.79 from 19 votes

Pin Print

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American, British

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Allergen:

Dairy

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 97kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

UK Metric Measures - US Customary Measures

• ▢ 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 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 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.

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 44mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

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DisclaimerThe nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.