Hi! Popping in (couldn't resist) in on a Saturday--a little computer glitch threw off my Famous Fridays post of yesterday, but I didn't want you to miss out on this timely recipe.

Are you excited to watch the Oscars this Sunday? Have you seen all of the nominated movies? I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I haven't even seen one of the nominees--just haven't made it to the movie theater in some time--that's the kind of year it's been. But I still love watching the Oscars--the gowns, the glam, the gossip! If you're looking for something fun and apropos to accompany this annual celeb-fest, why not try these "Oscar-Winning" Popcorn Cookies, straight from the pages of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman, this week's Famous Fridays honoree.

If you're not familiar with Deb's blog, Smitten Kitchen, and you like to cook and laugh, you really should take a look. Her recipes vary widely from easy family favorites to exotic, slightly complicated dishes, but no matter what, they are always accompanied by an amusing true-to-life narrative that makes you feel like Deb is a good friend. Her cookbook is just the same, informative and full of terrific, fun recipes that you don't see on other sites and it was really hard to pick one recipe, but Oscars, Popcorn cookies?!! What else could I do?

These are quite easy to make.  First you pop up a batch of popcorn--and it makes plenty so you can grab a few handfuls without ruining the recipe!

Then you make a simple brown sugar/buttery drop cookie batter and fold what seems like an exorbitant amount of popped popcorn into the batter. Don't worry it will all come together and it doesn't matter if little pieces of popcorn break off at all--

Then it's just a simple matter of dropping heaping tablespoon sized balls of popcorn-laden dough onto lined cookie sheets and baking them.

What emerges are bumpy, whimsical, slightly chewy, buttery cookies that are both salty and sweet in every bite--totally addictive!

So pop up a batch of popcorn, throw together these easy-to-make cookies and kick back and watch your favorite stars walk that red carpet! And take a look at Deb's Smitten Kitchen website and cookbook--they're full of Oscar deserving performances as well!

"Oscar-Winning" Popcorn Cookies-Famous Fridays

Makes 24 cookies

Prep Time:  15-20 minutes (including popping corn); Bake Time:  10-12 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup popcorn kernels (I used a bit more--just covered my pan bottom with a layer of kernels)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

The Recipe

1.  Pour the oil into a large pan with a tightly fitting lid and pour in the popcorn kernels so that they form one layer. Cover the pan and turn the heat up medium-high. Once the popping starts, make sure you jiggle the handle so that the pan is never just sitting over the heat, otherwise you risk burning the popcorn. This should take 5-6 minutes. Once corn has stopped popping, transfer it to a large bowl. Sprinkle the salt over it and pour over the melted butter. Toss so that the popcorn is evenly coated with the butter and salt. You should have at least 4-4 1/2 cups of popped corn. Set aside to cool.

2.  Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the stick of butter, both of the sugars, the egg and the vanilla until well mixed and smooth. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda and add to the butter mixture on low speed, mixing until combined. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold in the cooled popcorn, so that it is evenly distributed amongst the batter. It will seem like too much popcorn to batter ratio but just keep folding and eventually it will come together.

4.  Place heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the lined sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are light brown. Cookies will be still be soft when you take them out of the oven. Let cool on sheets on racks for a few minutes before transferring to the rack to cool completely.

5.  Cookies keep in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman.