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Planning a movie date night in with your sweetie? Need a crunchy, sweet snack that had a bit of chocolate and just a little kick to spice things up? And as an added bonus, it’s healthy, whole grains, gluten free, and can easily be made vegan. Get ready to dig in to a (guilt-free) bowl of {healthier} Glazed Mexican Chocolate Popcorn.
{healthier} Glazed Mexican Chocolate Popcorn
Back when I was working in an office, I always hated it when someone made popcorn in the microwave. Either I was not hungry at all and perfectly content, and then I would smell it and immediately in need of a snack. Or I was already starving and in the middle of a meeting or an experiment or a document, and it would just make the rumbling stomach even more unbearable. Or, worst case scenario, evil coworker would burn said popcorn and that lovely aroma of burnt popcorn would waft down the hallway, permeate the air, and leave a residual odor in the microwave so that I would smell it when I went to nuke my lunch for the next three days.
Yummmm!
Actually, I have a confession. I go in waves with popcorn. I won’t eat it for years, and then suddenly I’ll want it everyday for a few weeks. So I did get into a popcorn kick for a bit and would use the break room microwave to pop up one of those 100 calorie mini bags. Have you ever made those? Pop them for a minute and five second and you have a million unpopped kernels. A minute and ten seconds – PERFECT! By a minute and fifteen seconds, you are setting off the smoke alarms. Well, I nearly did that once. Just a couple seconds too long and smoke started pouring out of the microwave and the bag of popcorn. I literally ran outside with the bag, threw snow in the bag, and stashed it in the outside trash can so that I could get rid of any evidence that I was the one responsible this time.
Hope none of my former coworkers read the blog!
Speaking of burnt popcorn, that is totally NOT what this is. It’s actually dark cocoa powder, but really you could use regular, too. I just really like dark cocoa when combined with the combination of ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne in this Mexican Chocolate Spice Mix. And this Glazed Mexican Chocolate Popcorn? Soooo addictive. While I do love popcorn coated in melted chocolate, it does make it a bit mushy. This stays perfectly crunchy, and the combination of sweet/salty/spicy is totally a party in your mouth. Although you may want to adjust that party to what you can handle – The Hubby liked it a bit less spicy, I liked more of a kick, and The Bug, well, if it’s chocolate, he’s all in regardless.
The best part though, well, popcorn is a whole grain, it’s sweetened with just the right amount of honey (or you could probably use maple syrup or agave) so it isn’t full of sugar, it isn’t dripping in butter like your standard movie theater fare (in fact, I used coconut oil), and cocoa powder packs lots of antioxidants and chocolaty goodness with just a few calories. Then you’ve got the spices that are awesome for your blog sugar and metabolism – you could practically burn calories while you are eating it 😉
And you know, anytime you can have something chocolaty and still claim that it is a health food… #winning!
Are you guilty of any workplace faux pas?
{healthier} Glazed Mexican Chocolate Popcorn
Ingredients
- 4 cups popped popcorn see Note*
- 3 tablespoons honey should be able to use agave or maple syrup for strict vegan
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons dark or regular cocoa powder
- 1/2-1 teaspoon Mexican Chocolate Spice Mix see Note**, amount based upon your preference for how spicy you would like it
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Place popcorn in a large bowl.
- In a small pot, combine honey, coconut oil or butter, cocoa powder, Mexican Chocolate Spice Mix (or combination of spices as per Note**), and salt over low heat, and stir until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle mixture over popped popcorn and gently stir until evenly coated. This may take a couple of minutes to ensure the glaze is evenly distributed.
- Spread popcorn into a single layer on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 minutes, remove from the oven and stir, then spread back out into a single layer.
- Return to the oven and bake in 3 minute intervals, stirring each time until the popcorn is nearly dry. You will probably need two or three more 3 minute intervals. Be careful to avoid burning the popcorn.
- Allow to cool completely. Popcorn will continue to harden as it cools. Store in an airtight container, if it lasts that long.
Notes
**If you don't make up a batch of the Mexican Chocolate Spice Mix, you can use about 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. Recipe is easily doubled.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakekalechip on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
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Enjoy!
Need more sweet snacks?
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And here are some from my friends…
- Peanut Butter Cup Puppy Chow from Inside Bru Crew Life
- Maple Bacon Caramel Corn with Pecans from Foodbabbles
- Samoas Chex Mix from i heart eating
Mmmmm! I love how crunchy this turned out! My toddler loves it, I love it, and I can hardly wait to wow my hubby with it for a Valentines Day treat!
Hi Brianne – a healthier chocolate popcorn? I’m on it! 🙂 Love! Thank you so much for sharing this at Best of the Weekend! Hope you have a happy Saturday and a wonderful weekend!
I know, how can you go wrong?!
This looks mighty delicious! That is so funny that you got rid of the popcorn! 😀 Saved this!!!
I HAD to!! 🙂
You had me at “Mexican!
Mexican sweet, Mexican savory – it all works!
mmmmm!!! This popcorn looks like the perfect, guilt-less (or at least…less guilt :P), treat!!
Well, less guilt that the other things I’ve posted recently 😉