These Easy Honey Popcorn bars are delicious, simple and versatile. A simple, quick recipe that you can make your own to suit the tastes of the whole family!
We are starting to prepare for the kids heading back to school. That means sorting uniforms, realising that they all need new shoes, finding their lunch boxes, buying stationary, checking how many holes are in there school bags and for us, this year it means 3 kids at 3 different schools! It is going to be an interesting time for sure.
It can also be an overwhelming and stressful time of year and of course an expensive one, especially being so close after Christmas and the summer break. Many families struggle with the start of a new year. I try and organise as much as I can in early December, it may seem early but it means I can relax over the summer knowing I have the essentials in place such as uniform and shoes and I know what is coming if there is anything I miss.
Lunch boxes can be a minefield now. There are so many regulations and allergies to be mindful of but it is becoming the norm to now have plastic-free and nut-free lunchboxes now in many early childhood centres and schools around the country. This recipe was born from wanting to give the kids bars that they love, will eat and that meet the nut-free requirements. I also wanted to make popcorn bliss balls but without the rolling part! Plus these bars are super easy and I can make variations to suit even the fussiest one!
Countdown have a huge range of ready prepared lunch snacks and ingredients to help make the back to school dread a little easier to manage. With so many products on price lockdown, I simply shop the specials to ensure we have a variety of things in the cupboard. If you like to bake you will want to check out my post on 5 Freezer Friendly Lunch Box Ideas for Back to School which includes delicious savoury muffins, sweet muffins and mini quiches so you can have many options on hand each morning.
5 Freezer Friendly Lunch Box Ideas for Back to School
For this recipe the base is just two ingredients, Act II Microwave Popcorn and honey. Then you can add a variety of flavours to this, we have chosen three variations to share with you but I am sure you can come up with many more! We have Apricot & Coconut, Cranberry & White Chocolate and Sultana, Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds.
There are a few tips to make these a success:
- When cooking your Act II Microwave popcorn listen to the kernels pop, once they begin to slow stop straight away to ensure it does not burn, all microwaves are so different.
- Shake the popcorn bag to ensure any uncooked kernels sink to the bottom
- Lightly spray your bowl before you place your popcorn in it, this helps prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bowl later on
- Crush your popcorn with your hands to blend and reduce the size of the popcorn, this helps to bind it together into a smooth bar
- Be careful not to burn your honey, stir often cook until it is all boiling and remove from the heat
- Take care, the honey is very very hot, have everything prepared and use a wooden spoon to stir and spoon into the tin to avoid burning your hands.
- Use a sheet of baking paper to smooth down the slice, the ingredients are sticky so this helps to smooth without making a mess.
- Pop the leftover popcorn into an airtight container for snacks!
So onto the recipe, I would love to hear what variation you would choose
Honey Popcorn Bars
Delicious and simple, check out my tips for easy success above.
Ingredients
- 1 Sachet Act II Microwave Popcorn (Recipe requires 5 Cups from popped bag)
- 1/2 Cup Honey
Optional
- Diced Dried Apricots & Shredded Coconut (1/4 cup each)
- Dried Cranberries and White Chocolate Drops (1/4 cup each)
- Sultanas, Sunflower Seeds and Pumpkin Seeds (1/4 cup each)
Instructions
- Prepare a 25x25 slice tin with baking paper and set aside
- Lightly spray a medium bowl with cooking spray and set aside
- Cook the Microwave popcorn according to instructions, careful not to overcook, see tips below
- Allow popcorn to cool before opening bag, then add 5 cups of popcorn to the prepared medium bowl
- Add the optional ingredients you are using, with your hands mix and crush the popcorn to a smaller size and set aside.
- Add the honey to a small saucepan and warm over a medium heat until the honey is well combined and boiling.
- Carefully remove the honey from the heat and add to the popcorn mixture, taking care as honey very hot and sticky
- Stir well and pour into the prepared slice tin.
- Take an additional sheet of baking paper and carefully press the mixture into a smooth slice right to the edges.
- Chill for 1 hour before slicing into bite sized pieces or bars
- Will keep for one week in the fridge or can be frozen
Notes
- When cooking your Act II Microwave popcorn listen to the kernels pop, once they begin to slow stop straight away to ensure it does not burn, all microwaves are so different.
- Shake the popcorn bag to ensure any uncooked kernels sink to the bottom
- Lightly spray your bowl before you place your popcorn in it, this helps prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bowl later on
- Crush your popcorn with your hands to blend and reduce the size of the popcorn, this helps to bind it together into a smooth bar
- Be careful not to burn your honey, stir often and cook until it is all boiling and remove from the heat
- Take care, the honey is very very hot, have everything prepared and use a wooden spoon to stir and spoon into the tin to avoid burning your hands.
- Use a sheet of baking paper to smooth down the slice, the ingredients are sticky so this helps to smooth without making a mess.
- Pop the leftover popcorn into an airtight container for snacks!
I look forward to hearing what you think.
A huge thank you to Countdown for partnering with me on this recipe, all of the ingredients were either on special, Countdown’s own brands or on price lockdown so I am definitely a fan of grabbing the bargains to make back to school a little easier on the pocket. And for those asking the lunch box is also from Countdown!
Happy Baking
Anna
I love hearing from you! What do you think of this recipe?