December 10, 2023

Miso Caramel Vegan Buttered Popcorn Cookies

Sweet and salty, these buttered popcorn cookies are a new favorite. The sweet, salty and umami flavors of miso paste pair with brown sugar for a layered, nutty, caramel, toffee flavor. If you like texture in your food, these cookies have a soft chew with the added complexity of whole popcorn kernels. These cookies are reminiscent of caramel corn, but more buttery and filling. They’re the type of cookies where you can’t leave them on the counter unsupervised without them disappearing (even after you told your boyfriend not to eat them because you still need to take pictures).

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The Origins of Christmas Cookies

While you can make cookies any time of year, I’ve made it my own tradition to publish a new cookie recipe every advent season. And these buttered popcorn cookies are my cookie of 2023!

Christmas cookies likely have their roots predating the holiday itself. As the cold weather arrived and daylight dwindled, cookies became a practical means of preserving fruits, nuts, and other ingredients to ensure their edibility. Additionally, they served as delightful treats for sharing during winter festivities. A predecessor of our modern Christmas cookie could be the “Christmas Cookery”. In the early 1800s, American cookbook author Amelia Simmons introduced a recipe for “Christmas Cookery”, which may not sound appealing to modern tastes but served its purpose in preservation, as it started hard and then softened over time in cellars.

As time progressed into the next century, cookies evolved from a practical necessity into more aesthetically pleasing and, one would assume, better-tasting treats. Decorative molds gained popularity, giving rise to the modern Christmas cookie. Today, our Christmas cookie tradition revolves more around the joy of giving than preservation. Baking cookies has become a joyous and festive bonding activity, especially for those with young ones. The enticing aroma of cinnamon and browning sugar fills the home, and the resulting cookies can be shared, gifted, or enjoyed immediately. Much like in the past, cookies maintain their longevity and can be readily shared when friends or family come by. While there are various regional cookie traditions, many cultures have some sort of a winter cookie tradition that they share.

Ultimately, the most crucial reason for baking cookies at Christmas is the timeless tradition of leaving some out for Santa, accompanied by a glass of oat milk. Failing to do so might risk finding a stocking filled with coal instead of presents.

Looking for Corn Recipes? Try one of these!

Looking for Vegan Cookie Recipes? Try one of these!

How to Make Buttered Popcorn Cookies

The first step to making these cookies is to get some popcorn ready to go. For this recipe you need 3 cups (slightly packed and a little smooshed) of unsalted, butter-free popcorn. These days you can buy pre-popped corn if you want to save yourself a step, but popping your own really isn’t tough. I typically make mine in the microwave in a paper bag, using the microwaves popcorn button. You can also make stovetop popcorn- sometimes I make it in a skillet with a lid, but I have dreams of picking up one of these stovetop popcorn makers. We had one when I was a kid, and I have many fond memories of spinning the crank until my mom told me to stop or I’d break it. Pop your corn with the method you have- I started with 1/4 cup of kernels and it made about 4 cups of popcorn total, so a little more than I needed.

Once you pop some popping corn, these buttered popcorn cookies come together easily with the help of your trusty stand mixer. Start with your room temperature vegan butter and miso, then add the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy, and then add the plant-based milk and vanilla. Whisk together the flour and baking soda before adding it to the stand mixer in batches so it doesn’t fly everywhere when mixed. At this point let your mixer do a little more mixing- developing those gluten bonds a little more will give you a better chew on your buttered popcorn cookies. The last step for the batter is to incorporate the popcorn. Because it’s a thick batter, it’s easiest to do this with your stand mixer too, rather than folding it in. Once adding the popcorn, don’t mix more than needed to avoid crushing the popcorn.

Because the popcorn takes up a lot of space, you’ll want to scoop out fairly big cookies. The dough is pretty sticky, so I used a cookie scoop to measure out the dough and then lightly oiled my hands to press the dough into the shape of a hockey puck. When baking, these cookies will spread a good amount so they need plenty of space on the baking sheet. Because of that, I like to work in batches. They take about 10 minutes to bake, after which you should let them cool for a couple minutes before trying to move them as they are going to be fairly fragile. Once you can move them from the baking sheet onto a cooling rack, allow them to cool fully.

Miso Caramel Vegan Buttered Popcorn Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 24 Cookies

Miso Caramel Vegan Buttered Popcorn Cookies

Ingredients

1/4 cup popping corn
1 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
3 tbsp. light miso paste
1 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup soymilk, or other plant-based milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Instructions

Pop your popping corn using the instructions on the package (no added butter or salt needed). Measure out three cups of the popped corn, lightly packing it and making sure not to get any un-popped kernels. Set the measured popped corn aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.
Add the vegan butter and miso paste to your stand mixer, and beat until soft. Add the brown sugar, and beat until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides and turn the mixer on slow. Add the plant-based milk and vanilla, and mix until incorporated.
In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Whisk to incorporate. Add the the butter in the mixer a little at a time, until all the flour is mixed in. Beat the batter in the mixer for a couple minutes to create a better chew in your cookies. Turn down the mixer speed again, and add the popcorn to the batter and beat until well distributed.
Use a large cookie scoop to scoop equally sized balls of dough (about 3 tbsp. worth of batter) and place on the prepared baking sheet giving at least 2 inches of space in every direction. Lightly oil your hands to prevent the dough from sticking, and gently flatten the dough balls slightly into a hockey-puck type shape.
Bake for 10 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a minute or two before using a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat until the batter has all been used. Let the cookies cool, and enjoy!

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