Kettle Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies, cookies, cookies! I was in the hospital over the holiday season, so no holiday cookie posts - boohoo! It may be January and the holidays may be over, but I don't care! I still love cookies in January and I bet you do, too! So let's savor the cookies and have a series of cookie posts, ok?! 
I know it was a long time ago (April 2013!), but yes, that is the date I posted these gorgeous cookies on my Facebook page but never to my blog (why, oh why?). They were inspired by a trip to Trader Joe's, where I saw a pretty bag of kettle corn that beckoned to me. Obviously, I bought it and clearly the contents of that bag inspired, what else? Cookies!

Kettle Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Joy the Baker and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups Trader Joe Kettle Corn
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add the combined mixture of the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to fold in the popcorn.  Some of the popcorn will break down a bit as it’s folded in and this is fine. Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little coarse sea salt. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until the edges and tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Love,