Sweet, chocolatey, buttery, and crunchy make these Popcorn Cookies the ultimate satisfying treat. It’s a chocolate chip cookie that’s stuffed with popcorn for an epic combination that’s simply scrumptious.

The surprising crunch in these cookies comes from a secret ingredient: crushed popcorn! We’re all familiar with combining salty popcorn with the sweetness of chocolate so it was just a matter of time before adding this duo to cookie dough happened. The result? An irresistible cookie that’s enjoyed by both kids and adults. A tall glass of cold milk is optional but highly recommended.

This recipe is super easy and you can customize it, too. It’s great for parties, movie nights, tailgating and just to have around on your countertop when you can’t decide between a sweet treat or a salty one. Win-win!

Ingredients Needed

Butter – unsalted and softened.

Sugar – use white granulated.

Egg – set it out a little early so that it comes to room temperature.

Vanilla Extract – for flavor.

Flour – use regular all-purpose.

Baking Soda – for leavening.

Salt – for seasoning.

Popped Popcorn – lightly crushed and packed. Make it ahead of time and let it cool completely.

Chocolate Chips – semi-sweet.

How To Make Popcorn Cookies

Note: This is a summary of the recipe steps. For complete instructions, see the recipe card down below.

Whisk together the dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated.
Fold in the chocolate chips and the lightly crushed popcorn.
Using a cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough and drop it onto a prepared baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 14 minutes or until the edges are set.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

What Kind Of Popcorn Should I Use?

Use your favorite popcorn! This might be microwave popcorn or a pre-popped bag of popcorn. Or if you love to make it on the stovetop, do that! It will all work in this recipe as long as it’s been popped to perfection and cooled before adding to the cookie dough.

Tip: Make sure you crush it a bit before you pack it into the measuring cups. You don’t want large popcorn in the cookie dough when you fold it in – it needs to be crushed a bit for optimal baking purposes.

Should I Butter The Popcorn Before I Add It To The Dough?

I don’t because that just adds more butter to the dough which can impact the baking and final cookie. That said, if you’re using butter-flavored microwave popcorn, that’s not an issue. Just don’t melt butter and add extra to it.

Variations

Chips: This cookie dough recipe has just two additions to it: popcorn and chocolate chips. Obviously, you don’t want to substitute the popcorn, but the chips can be almost any flavor you want. Try white, butterscotch, cinnamon, or dark chips to change it up.
Nuts: Add a smattering of chopped nuts in addition to or in place of the chocolate chips. Don’t overload the cookie dough though, otherwise, there won’t be enough dough surrounding the inclusions to bake up into a cookie. A little goes a long way!
Mini Marshmallows: Again, you might want to add a smattering of this soft and fluffy sweetness to the cookie batter. Use in place of the chocolate chips or in addition to them. You can also just press a few down into each cookie once you’ve portioned them out on the baking sheet. Press them down into the cookies so that they’ll melt into gooeyness when baking.
Sea Salt: I love to top my baked cookies with a little garnish of coarse sea salt as they’re cooling. Totally optional, but it’s a delicious finishing touch.

Storage

If you happen to have leftovers of popcorn cookies, keep them in an airtight container on your countertop for up to 5 days.

Related Recipes

Sour Cream and Onion Popcorn

Chocolate Covered Caramel Popcorn Balls

Monster Cookies

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Cake Mix Cookies

Best Cherry Garcia Cookies

Salted Caramel Apple Cookies

Popcorn Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups popped popcorn, lightly crushed and packed
1 ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Note: ½ cup chopped nuts can be substituted for ½ cup of the semi-sweet chocolate chips if desired.

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated.
5. Fold in the popcorn and chocolate chips.
6. Using a medium cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough and drop it onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 13 to 14 minutes or until the edges are set. Allow cooling on the baking sheet.
for 5 to 7 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.