Hooray for cookies!
This week we are making a little recipe I found in a community cookbook from 1970 called, “Cooking in Circles.” Tom is a big fan of cookies, even more so than pie and much more so than cake. He also loves potato chips, so when I saw this recipe for Potato Chip Cookies I thought we would have a total winner.
And when I say this is a little recipe, I actually mean “little”. I have found that it is very common for these community or church cookbooks to skimp on the instructions. I am not sure if it is because they assumed everyone knew how to make cookies or if it is just because they didn’t want to write or type out the whole thing. Either way, this is what you get:
- 1 c. margarine
- ¾ cup crushed potato chips
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups flour less 2 Tbsp.
- ½ cup nutmeats
- ½ tsp. soda or 1 tsp. baking powder
- Make into small balls and flatten down. Bake at 350 degrees 12 to 15 minutes.
For the instructions, I just made them the same way I would make Toll House chocolate chip cookies; so creaming sugar and fat, then adding the dry ingredients and folding in the chips and the pecans at the end. It seemed to work out okay and this is what I ended up with.
In a sort of hilarious side-note, Tom had a great time crushing up the potato chips. When he “accidentally” crushed too many, he just poured the extra down his throat. No fuss, no muss. He really likes potato chips.
He also really likes cookies.
“How are they?”
“Meh. Pretty bland. And the chips taste a little weird.”
“Weird like how?”
“I don’t think I crushed them small enough.”
The Verdict: Weird
From the Tasting Notes:
The cookies themselves tasted like pecan sandies (or snowballs, depending on what time of year you make them), except not as sweet. Unfortunately, the potato chips in this cookie were a little overwhelming, both in the salt and grease factor. If you want to make these, I would recommend substituting butter for the margarine, adding a teaspoon of vanilla and cutting the potato chips back to a half of a cup. And maybe adding some chocolate. Chocolate makes everything taste better.
My Mom used to make something similar, but without nuts (putting nuts in cookies is evil and wrong). So yeah, basically chocolate chip cookies with tater chips in ’em. I was never a fan because a chocolate chip cookie should be chewy and soft. Any crunchy additives feel foreign.
My family makes a version of Potato Chip Cookies almost every year at Christmas, but the recipe is slightly different than the one you used. Ours come out much thinner — very light and luscious with just a hint of the salt from the chips.
A few years ago, I added bacon on a whim. It was AWESOME
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2008/12/23/bacon-and-butter/
I love the way Tom looks like he really, really wants to like these cookies but just can’t.
Agree with Melissa that the addition of bacon could only improve these.
On a completely unrelated note, I wanted to let you know that this site has had a profound effect on me. Now, whenever I add sour cream to a recipe, I have to wave an imaginary magic wand and say “Bing!”
Hmm, yeah, chocolate and bacon sound like winning additions!
Too bad these didn’t pan out, it’s always harder to get all excited about a recipe that ends up failing. (The scary-but-delicious are more rewarding!)
I’ve made and eaten potato chip cookies before! Never had the kind with nuts. Also, I seem to remember the recipe I have calls for them to be rolled in powdered sugar (before baking?) or dusted with powdered sugar, which gave them a salty/sweet taste. I also remember it being a very ‘short’ (bread) cookie. So it’s good people who don’t like really sweet cookies.
“Chocolate makes everything taste better.”
I think I will have a t-shirt made with these words of wisdom.
Thanks for the entertainment.
This recipe was designed to use up stale potato chips. You might try waiting and using a bag of chips which has gone stale. It might change the texture. The women cooking when I was growing up were constantly looking for ways to use stale items in recipes so as not to waste food.
I tried potato chip cookies over the holidays. They were delish!
This isn’t exactly like the recipe I have; see Marcia Adams’ Heirloom Recipes , Clarkson/Potter Publishers NY, Page 242. I had this cookie as a child back in 1967. My best friend’s mom used to make them all the time but I have no idea where she got her recipe. I’ve always thought this version tasted more like a salty sweet version of shortbread. Try a few different versions of the recipe or try different brands of potato chips–some are saltier than others and have a more pronounced taste. As a food historian I’ve been trying without luck to find the origins of this recipe. Any clues?
I have made and eaten these cookies since I was a little girl. Our recipe calls for the potato chip, Chocolate chips, nuts and coconut. We then roll them into balls, flatten slightly and after they are baked, dip the tops in powder sugar. Our recipe calls for margarine. One year I substituted butter and they were a disaster! They spread out to thin and were too greasy. DO NOT USE BUTTER! The powder sugar is a necessity as it adds sweetness to the cookies.