A few years ago I was browsing through a free magazine that had popped through the door and came across this lovely recipe from Café Boscanova in Bournemouth. I thought what a fantastic idea to add popcorn to granola! So I’ve been making it ever since. It’s a lovely granola with a hint of orange and spice and the popcorn really makes it feel festive and fun.
You can go to town on the popcorn, plain is best to add into the oats mix as it gets coated with the lovely flavours of the oil and spices, but you can add any flavour at the end. Why not try some of the amazing different flavours around at the moment. My current favourite is Joe and Seph’s mince pie flavour or the toffee apple and cinnamon, or the coconut and chia seed – the list goes on. You can personalise each bowl depending on your families favourites!
Christmas orange and popcorn granola
- 300g rolled oats
- 50g coconut flakes
- 40g plain popcorn
- 100g dates – chopped into quarters (you want to keep some big chunky bits)
- Grated zest of one orange
- 2 tablespoons mixed spice
- 50g cashew nuts or other nuts (or leave out for a nut free version)
- 3 tablespoons rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 25g butter
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 100g dark brown sugar
- juice of one orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 50g dried cranberries
- Couple of handfuls of plain (or flavoured) popcorn
Method
- Mix the oats, coconut, 40g popcorn, dates, nuts, spice and zest together.
- In a small saucepan gently heat the oil, butter, sugar, orange juice, maple syrup and vanilla – until the sugar is dissolved. Then add this to the dry mix and stir it all well.
- Spread the mixture onto a baking tray and bake 180c/350f/Gas 4 – for 15 minutes.
- Take it out of the oven and add the cranberries.
- Let it cool (it will harden as it cools) and then add a few handfuls of popcorn to the mix.
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