Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup (45 grams) popcorn kernels
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (115 grams or 1 stick) butter,
- softened
- 1/2 cup (95 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (155 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Preparation
Step 1
Make popcorn: Pour the oil over the bottom of a large saucepan that has a lid, and add the popcorn kernels, shimmying the pan around so the kernels [and in one layer. Cover the pot, heat it over medium-high heat, and, once the kernels begin to pop, keep the saucepan moving until all of the kernels have popped, about 5 to 7 minutes total. Toss the table salt and then the melted butter over the popcorn, then transfer it to a bowl so that you can fish out any unpopped kernels. You should have about 4 to 4½ cups popcorn. Let cool.
mix dough: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate 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, which will seem like a ridiculous instruction because there is so much popcorn and so little cookie batter, but it works. Don’t worry if the popcorn breaks up a bit. The mixed-size pieces are part of the cookie’s charm.
Bake cookies: Scoop heaping-tablespoon-sized mounds 2 inches apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are light brown. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for a few minutes to firm up before transferring them to a rack to cool.