Chocolate Chip Popcorn Cookies
Want a jazzed-up oatmeal cookie? These chocolate chip popcorn cookies are a salty sweet and feature caramel corn made with maple syrup.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil (like grapeseed or vegetable)
- 2 tablespoons yellow popcorn kernels
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour)
- 3/4 cup rolled oats (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup 60% bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the caramel corn: In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat with one kernel of popcorn, covered. When the kernel pops, add the remaining kernels and cover immediately. Shake to coat the kernels with oil, and heat over medium high heat, shaking the pan every 15 seconds until the vigorous popping has stopped, about 1 1/2 minutes. As soon as the popping slows down, take the saucepan off of the heat and wait for all popping to finish. Pour the popcorn onto a paper towel, then gently roll the popcorn kernels in the paper towel to break them into smaller pieces. Add the maple syrup and 1 tablespoon butter to the hot pan; it should start bubbling immediately. Stirring frequently, boil syrup for 3 minutes over medium heat until it becomes darker and caramel in color. Then turn off the heat add the larger pieces of the popcorn to the maple syrup mixture (leave the small pieces and unpopped kernels on the paper towel and discard); add the sea salt and stir to fully coat. Place the finished caramel corn in a single layer in a bowl and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes to harden. Once hard, break up the caramel popcorn into single pieces.
- Soften 1 stick of butter to room temperature. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract for 1 minute. Then add the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt and beat on low until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to fold in the popcorn and chocolate chips.
- Scoop dough into balls and place onto the prepared baking sheets, making about 24 cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges and tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Loosely inspired by Smitten Kitchen via Joy the Baker