March Madness Bakeoff - Round 1 - Cookies!

As you know, my dear readers - Mrs. BA knows her way around the kitchen, particularly when it comes to baking.  This year, her office is running its annual March Madness Bakeoff.  Last year, she won it all!  She was back to defend her title this year.

Round 1 is, as usual, cookies.  Here's the submission she went with.  However, the title defense ended prematurely.  This cookie did not advance to the next round.

Buttered Popcorn Cookies
From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
Recipe via The Dirty Oven

Makes about 24 large cookies

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1/4 cup popcorn kernels 
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt 
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted 
• 1/2 cup butter, softened 
• 1/2 light brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 large egg 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

Preparation
To make the popcorn: Pour the oil over the bottom of a large saucepan that has a lid, and add the popcorn kernels. Move them around in the pan so they are in one layer. Cover the pot, heat it over medium high heat. Once the kernels begin to pop, keep the pan moving until all of the kernels have popped. About 5 to 7 minutes. Toss the popcorn with the salt and melted butter, then transfer to a bowl. Make sure to pick out the unpopped kernels. You should have about 4 to 4 and 1/2 cups of popcorn.

To make the dough: Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a large bowl cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda together. Stir the combined dry ingredients into the butter sugar mixture. Fold in the cooled popcorn so that it is evenly distributed through the batter. It is no big deal if the popcorn breaks up a bit when folding.

Scoop a large tablespoon size mound onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches space in between cookies. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are light brown. Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes to firm up before transferring them them to a rack to cool. Enjoy!!