movie night popcorn chocolate chip cookies
A cookie both salty and sweet, the ideal late summer treat!
Kinda sounds like I’m casting a spell. Definitely not the worst thing I can pull out of my witch’s cauldron.
It’s Thursday and that means it’s time to peer forth into the weekend, and I think you weekend plans demand a sweet treat. Work has been wiping me out since the school year restarted and methinks today I’m going to venture to a favorite coffee shop and hunt down some kind of nibble for me and Little Miss Ba.
If you found your way here because you, too, needed dessert, make these Movie Night Popcorn Chocolate Chip Cookies. Buttery popcorn speckles the classic, chewy cookies we all know and love. They’re the perfect final piece to a snack spread whilst you cozy beneath your throws, light a few candles, and watch an old favorite or a new curiosity.
As with all my cookie recipes, they’re quick to pull together, lack naught in fillings, and are best with a sprinkle of flaky salt and warm from the oven. Though I do also have a soft spot for a frozen cookie. Maybe weird, but trust me and give it a go, if you have any of these left over.
…Which is doubtful, so maybe bake a second batch.
Pop Goes the Corn
Popcorn in cookies just seemed fun, and the nice part is that you can use pre-popped bagged popcorn or a fresh batch of homemade poppycorn. I love this Himalayan sea salt and olive oil version if I need a fix fast.
My cookies pretty much always follow the same formula. Cream butter, brown sugar, and white sugar, then mix in two eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.
Then, add in flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Stir until just combined, then fold in your popcorn and chocolate chips and/or chunks with a spatula. I like to lightly crush the popcorn in a ziptop bag first before adding to the dough.
Scoop out rounded two tablespoon sized balls, then roll into a nice sphere and place on a parchment-lined backing sheet. I speckle a few more chocolate chunks and popcorn pieces into the balls because the result is quite pleasing and pretty.
Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are set but the centers still soft. Cool on the baking sheet, then move to wire racks to cool completely. Be sure to snag one or two warm to sample the wares. Ain’t no good serving cookies if you haven’t done a quality control test or tests first.
They’ll pass, I assure you.
Cookies store well, covered, for 5 days at room temp, a couple weeks in the fridge, and forever (a few months) in the freezer. Again, do not underestimate the luxury of a fudge, frozen cookie. There exists a certain delight in dipping a firm cookie into a mug of coffee or a glass of milk and letting the piece soften with that method.
Hearkens back to my childhood, and even as an old women, I still adore that pasttime.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Your next favorite cookie lives here:
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Egg Yolk Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
movie night popcorn chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4-2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups butter popcorn, popped, lightly crushed
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips and/or chunks
- flaky sea salt, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- In a bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Whip in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the popcorn and the chocolate chips and/or chunks. Do not overmix.
- Scoop rounded two tablespoon-sized mounds of dough and roll into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about two inches of space between each. Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through baking time. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet.
- Enjoy a few warm (ooooh yeahhh) or cool completely, cover in a tupperware or ziptop bag, and store for later.
