MAPLE-COCOA POPCORN
I’ve been making this popcorn for nearly ten years now, but my method was a little sloppy so I was sort of embarrassed to share. When I first started making it I would just drizzle the ingredients over, one at a time, and use my hand to mix them all over the popcorn. Then I would eat the accumulated toppings off my hands sort of like eating Cheetos residue, but chocolate-y.
Not a terrible method, but also not a particularly tidy or efficient method.
It never failed that cacao powder would fly out of the bowl and wind up sticking to bits of maple syrup on the counter.
There’s a better way. And by better I mean a way in which you don’t have to have to slosh a bunch of sticky cacao powder all over your counter BUT, you still get to lick your fingers! Win-win.
This is my go-to dessert when I’m feeling that crunchy-sweet-but complex flavor/texture combo. You can also add toasted coconut or sesame seeds or even other spices like ginger or turmeric.
But, honestly, I usually just keep it simple.
[Makes about 10 cups* of popcorn]
Prep time: 5 minutes
Laze around time: None!
INGREDIENTS
10 cups* popped popcorn (pop any popcorn in the microwave)
2 teaspoons liquid coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons cacao powder
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
HOW TO
In a large bowl, drizzle coconut oil over popcorn while gently tossing.
Whisk together syrup, cinnamon, cacao powder, and sea salt until smooth. I highly recommend measuring the cacao powder first so your measuring spoon isn’t all syrup-y and you only have to wash it once.
Drizzle maple syrup mixture over popcorn while tossing to evenly coat. I usually get in there with both hands!
*I gave a range here because measuring popped popcorn is SO not an exact science! I mean, if you smoosh it or barely fill the cup it can really make a difference in how much popcorn you wind up with. So, I feel like around 10 cups works with the maple-chocolate mixture. If you wind up using a little more popcorn you get a lighter coating of flavor, a little less popcorn yields a slightly heavier coating.
