Cranberry Nut Crunch Popcorn

I love making food gifts for the holidays and since popcorn, nuts and berries are three of my favorite foods, it just seems natural to combine them into something gift-able.

I think I might keep this one for myself, though. It’s so yummy.

Cranberry Nut Crunch Popcorn

• 10 – 12 cups of popped plain popcorn
• 2 cups of nuts (I used 1 cup of almonds, 1 cup of walnuts)

• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. cranberry-apple juice concentrate
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 T. ginger sugar (This is from my candied ginger recipe … if you don’t have any ginger sugar, just use 1/4 t. ginger in its place)

• 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins … I found some that are sweetened with pomegranate juice! Isn’t that cool?)

Directions:

1. Pop the popcorn and mix it with the nuts. Lay the popcorn/nut mixture on a large flat pan and set aside.
2. Mix the spices, sugar, juice concentrate and oil in a small bowl till the brown sugar is dissolved and everything is well mixed.
3. With a spoon, drizzle the spice/juice mixture over the popcorn and nuts.
4. Bake at 300 degrees F. for 45 minutes to an hour or so, stirring every 15 minutes, until the popcorn and nuts are crunchy, not soggy.
5. Stir in 1 cup of dried cranberries. I am thinking some chunks of candied ginger or pretzels would also be good in the mix.
6. Store in an airtight container, like a jar or a pretty tin.

This recipe was shared at Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, the Newlyweds Recipe Linky, Wonka Wednesdays, and EveryDay Mom’s Meals.