Butterscotch Popcorn Cookies Are Sweet and Salty!

These buttered popcorn and butterscotch cookies are a unique twist on a traditional favorite! They are sweet, salty, chewy, and delicious – and the recipe is very easy to make.

I love popcorn! I live for it. I go the movie theater for it. I eat it for lunch. I eat it for dinner. I like it covered in salt, in butter, and in any sticky, sugary goo that’s available.

Truly there is no form of the stuff I don’t love. That is why it was no surprise to me when I felt as though I had gone to popcorn heaven after I tasted this buttered popcorn cookies recipe. Since then I’ve made this fall dessert recipe several times, and it never disappoints.

It seems like when it comes to adding saltiness to baked goods, pretzels get all the glory. Every brownie and cookie has pretzel in it these days, and I feel like this recipe is here to finally give popcorn the recognition it deserves.

This cookie recipe is moist and delicious, filled with crunchy, chewy, and salty popcorn which pairs perfectly with the butterscotch chips.

These are fun, different and delicious little suckers and I can’t wait to hear how much you love them. If you’re feeling spicy, you could even use these as a cookie exchange recipe (for something a little unusual!).

Baking Tips

Since this butterscotch cookie recipe uses a dough that is lighter in color, you’re going to look for golden edges to make sure that they are done. You want to make sure they are a light to medium golden brown – but not too dark!

The second indicator that you need to remove these cookies from the oven is a slightly puffy center. The centers will look a little soft, but will continue cooking on the sheet or rack when you remove them from the oven.

Are you ready for deliciousness? Here is how you make these cookies!

Ingredients

• 4 cups popped popcorn (popcorn kernels removed)
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Don’t Forget These Important Things:

• Let your pan cool between batches of cookies (it helps to have two pans in rotation). This keeps the cookies from spreading a lot.
• I swear by USA Pans. They are my absolutely favorite and cook baked items so evenly.
• Check the cookies regularly through the baking process and go by how they look versus the time on the recipe. I mentioned, the edges should be golden brown and the middles pale when you pull them out.
• Cold ingredients should be at room temperature (egg, butter) but don’t leave them out too long.
• Bread flour can make these cookies more chewy, and cake flour can make them more delicate (as alternatives to white flour).

YUUUUMMM. These butterscotch chip cookies are such a perfect combination of salty and sweet, and chewy and crunchy. It’s like eating caramel corn in a cookie! “Pretzel” better watch its back.

What do you think of these cookies? Would you ever put popcorn in your cookies? DO IT. Get the printable recipe below.

Butterscotch Popcorn Cookies

These buttered popcorn and butterscotch cookies are a unique twist on a tradition favorite! They are sweet, salty, chewy, and delicious – and the recipe is very easy to make.

4.32 from 16 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 4 cups popcorn popped
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg(s) room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use a stand mixer and mix on low speed until ingredients are just combined. Don't overbeat the batter.
• Fold in the cooled popcorn and butterscotch chips so that it is evenly distributed through the batter. The popcorn will break up slightly while you fold.
  
• Scoop a large tablespoon-size mound onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown.
  
• Transfer batches to wire racks to cool.

Video

Notes

It seems like the popcorn per dough ratio is high – but I promise it's the right amount. It will break apart as you stir the popcorn in.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.4mg

If you enjoyed this tasty recipe, I’d also love for you to check out these other cookie recipes:

Apricot Dark Chocolate • Bacon Chocolate Chip • Brownie Chocolate Chip • Buckeye • Chocolate Chip Pudding • Chocolate Chip Sandwich • Chocolate Crinkles • Chocolate Marshmallow • Chocolate Thumbprint • Circus Animal • Cotton Candy • Funfetti • Ginger Molasses • Heath Bar • Maple • Nutella Stuffed • Oatmeal Cream Pies • Peanut Butter Blossoms • Reese’s Pieces • Ritz S’mores • Rolo • Shortbread Tea • Snickers • Snowball Cookies • Jam Thumbprints (Classic) • Vanilla