Buttered Popcorn Cookies

This post has nothing to do with pumpkin, turkey or mashed potatoes. No ginger or nutmeg to be found. For some reason when Thanksgiving rolls around it makes me anxious for all that is still to come. Christmas trees,(and their needles), trying to wrap presents, and sending out all those holiday cards. Just thinking about it all makes my head spin. 

Instead of bringing you cinnamon, apples, pumpkin and pecans, which are in my kitchen ready to be transformed into Thanksgiving desserts. I am going to talk about popcorn. Yes! Popcorn in a cookie. Who thinks of that?  Deb from Smitten Kitchen has a new cookbook that is full of easy wonderful ideas and flavors. When I saw this recipe I had to try it out. A fun idea, and a fun cookie to make. If you want to be a rebel this holiday bring this cookie and say, "Shove it cinnamon! Popcorn is where it's at."

 Lets get pop'n

 I stood over the popcorn bowl and snacked. Popcorn that is intoxicating.  Gotta get on it. 

Fold into a simple sugar cookie batter and ready to bake. Crunchy and salty meets buttery and sweet. Seriously Deb, you had me at popcorn.  This book is a great idea for a holiday gift for someone who loves the kitchen. 

Buttered Popcorn Cookies

From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Makes about 24 large cookies

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

To make the popcorn: Pour the oil over the bottom of a large saucepan that has a lid, and add the popcorn kernels. Move them around in the pan so they are in one layer. Cover the pot, heat it over medium high heat. Once the kernels begin to pop, keep the pan moving until all of the kernels have popped. About 5 to 7 minutes. Toss the popcorn with the salt and melted butter, then transfer to a bowl. Make sure to pick out the unpopped kernels. You should have about 4 to 4 and 1/2 cups of popcorn.

To make the dough: Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a large bowl cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda together. Stir the combined dry ingredients into the butter sugar mixture. Fold in the cooled popcorn so that it is evenly distributed through the batter. It is no big deal if the popcorn breaks up a bit when folding. 

Scoop a large tablespoon size mound onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches space in between cookies. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are light brown. Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes to firm up before transferring them them to a rack to cool. Enjoy!!