Chocolate Coconut Popcorn

I've been obsessing over coconut lately, as you'll probably see in a few posts to come, and I'm not sure when this love started, but I can't get enough of the stuff. It's coconut EVERYTHING right now, and the scent and taste of it is taking over my life. I just love it so much.

When I came up with this recipe I was amazed at my own creativity and the end result was impressive to say the least. Not only does it look stunning - the dark chocolate coating half of each piece of popcorn and dessicated coconut laced on top - it tastes pretty damn good too. I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back for this one. Here's how you can make some too, and enjoy all of it for yourself because it's too good to share - plus, it's healthy, yay!

Ingredients:

• 100g dark chocolate - the darker the better. Dark chocolate is good for the brain and gives you the sugar fix you need without eating too much of it.
• 1tbsp raw virgin coconut oil - so so good for you, I don't even know where to start but for more information on the health benefits of coconut oil click here - it may be a pricey oil to invest in but it's versatile, smells and tastes amazing and will last you a long time.
• 50g popping corn
• 1tbsp dessicated coconut (optional - not pictured)

Method:

1. Put the coconut oil into a large saucepan on a low heat. This stuff melts crazy fast.

2. Add the popping corn and stir it around to ensure each kernel is coated in the coconut oil. Then place a lid on the pan and let it heat up - it might take a while before you hear any kernels begin to pop but you must keep it on a low heat otherwise it will burn.

3. While you're waiting, melt the chocolate in the microwave and line a baking tray with some greaseproof paper. Make sure you keep an eye on the popcorn and shake it about every minute or so (this will require two hands - I had a bit of an accident here and half the popcorn ended up flying out of the pan so please be more careful than I was!)

You could just leave it at that and have yourself a super healthy snack, but why not put in a bit of extra time and effort and create something even better. It's so worth it.

4. I started off with just dipping the popcorn in the melted chocolate, but decided a bit later on that I would get the dessicated coconut out of the cupboard and mix it up a bit. I did about half dipped in coconut and half just plain chocolate - just to give some variation in flavour and texture.

6. Leave the popcorn to set on the tray - I left mine at room temperature and they were set in about an hour, but if you can't wait that long stick them in the fridge.

Now to eat all of it and feel good about not having parted with silly amounts of money for a cheap and easy to make snack :) I am so happy with how this popcorn turned out! Usually I'll eat a whole bag of Tyrrells popcorn but with this homemade stuff I was good with just a handful. Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @hello_flower if you decide to try this recipe.