{recipe} Potato Chip and Pecan Cookies

My much beloved Grammy used to make potato chip cookies, but alas, I wasn’t able to find her original recipe. This is my interpretation. What’s not to love? You have potato chips… in a cookie!

I looked up a bunch of recipes, and noticed that most call for the chips to be “finely crushed.” What’s up with that? First of all, it’s harder to finely crush the chips then just smash the bag a couple of times, and second of all, we’re not trying to do a Jessica Seinfeld on the chips, we’re celebrating their appearance in the cookie. Ditto the pecans. Big chunks all around. Trust me on this one.

For the potato chips, I feel quite strongly that Lay’s classic is your best bet. Don’t even think about using baked, popped, or natural chips- I definitely can’t guarantee the results if you do. A 99 cent, 1 7/8 ounce bag of Lay’s (minus the few chips I know you’re going to sneak) is the perfect amount for the recipe.

If you’re Crisco-averse, you can just use all butter. If you’re butter-averse, uh, you might be reading the wrong blog.

Potato Chip and Pecan Cookies

makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling out
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup potato chips, crushed with your hands into small pieces (1 7/8 oz bag of Lay’s minus a few chips is the perfect amount)
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped roughly

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.
• Cream the butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and the vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the flour and mix just to combine. Add the potato chips and pecans and mix again.
• Put some sugar into a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in your hands and roll them in the sugar. Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet and press gently but firmly with the palm of your hand to flatten.
• Bake about 15 minutes, until cookies are baked through but not brown. Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.