Kettle Corn Cookies

Today, my parents hosted a 'Bon Voyage' party for Adam and I, since we will be moving up to Portland, Oregon in two weeks. I figured this would be a great time to make my Kettle Corn cookies! I've made them once before, and I was really happy to get the chance to make them for a second time.

The original recipe is actually a Buttered Popcorn Cookie recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. It reminded me of the Kettle Corn Cookies that Trader Joe's has (very yummy by the way), so I figured I could make my very own Kettle Corn Cookies!

This time I had the help of my two furry friends, Juneau and Barack.

Popcorn (makes about 4-5 cups)

- 1/8 cup vegetable oil

- 1/8 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup popcorn

- 1/2 teaspoon salt **optional- add it if you like your kettle corn sweet and salty**

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, stir in the sugar and popcorn.

2. Cover, and shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning. Once the popping has slowed once every 2-3 seconds, remove the pot from the heat, and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped. 

3. Pour into a large bowl, and allow to cool.

4. Once cool, take out any unpopped kernels and/or burned popcorn.

Cookies (makes about 24 cookies)

- 1/2 cup butter, softened

- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

- 1/3 cup granulated sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, crean together the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda together.

4. Stir in the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. Fold in the cooled popcorn so that it is evenly distributed through the batter. **There will seem like a lot of popcorn, and not a whole lot of dough, but don't worry! Just take time mixing it together, and it'll work. Don't be afraid to break up the popcorn pieces either!!**

5. Scoop out tablespoon-sized balls of dough (or use a small ice cream scoop). Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are light brown. 

6. When done, let the cookies sit on the sheet for a bit to get a little firm. Then either transfer them onto a cooling rack or eat away!!