Cinema Snack Cookies

I went to the movies last weekend to watch The Way Way Back – a coming of age story of an awkward teen who goes to a beach house with his blended family for the summer.  The boyfriend and I agreed that we love movies about summer as that seems to be when the growing up happens.  Plus, the movie made me long for those summer days at my childhood friend’s beach house – or wait, I think that was a Wonder Years episode.  Nevertheless, it was a great movie to the summer that’s coming to an end.

Going to the movies reminded me of this popcorn cookie that I’ve been meaning to make.  But why not take it up a notch by adding candy bars and making it a full out movie cookie.  Is there anything else that I can add to make it a complete movie snack experience in one bite? 

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Cinema Snack Cookies

Adapted from here.
Makes 20 cookies

Ingredients

¼ cup popcorn kernels

2 tablespoon salted butter, melted

½ cup salted butter, room temperature

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups coarsely chopped candy bar of your choice (I used 1 ¼ cup Caramilk and ¾ cups toffee bits and chopped dark chocolate)

Directions

1.    Place popcorn kernels in a brown paper lunch bag and fold down the top 2 times over.  Microwave on the popcorn setting until popping slows down to 1 or 2 every second.  Pour popcorn into a large bowl.  If you haven’t already melted the 2 tablespoons of butter, do so now before pouring over the popcorn and tossing to coat. Set aside.

2.    Whip ½ cup butter and both sugars using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer until fluffy (3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3.    Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 5 minutes.

4.    In a separate bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, and baking soda.  Add to butter mixture and mix until nearly combined.

5.    Toss in popcorn (don’t add the unpopped kernels) and mix until combined (should only take a few seconds).

6.    Add chopped candy bar and mix until combined.

7.    Using a 2-inch scoop, portion out dough onto a baking sheet, wrap with foil and chill in the fridge for 24-72 hours.  You can skip this step and bake right away, but I always let my cookie dough sit in the fridge for a more complex flavor.

To bake:

8.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.

9.    Place dough on baking sheet and press down with your palm to flatten them a bit (only if it’s been in the fridge).

10. Bake for 11 minutes (10 minutes if it hasn’t been in the fridge).  Cool on sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Ready for the fridge.

Verdict: These were amazingly delicious! They were nice and chewy with substance.  The corn flavour was such a nice contrast to the sweet caramel notes.  If you like a stronger popcorn flavour, I suggest using store bought microwave popcorn, as the above recipe makes a subtle flavour. I highly recommend Caramilk as your candy bar of choice for these cookies – you get bites of gooey caramel!  I can’t wait to make these again!