Potato chips? Or cookies? How about BOTH together?! I am telling you these cookies make me want to kiss the person who thought of combining the two! (On second thought, I think I will stick to kissing my own baker.) But where did these cookies come from? And where have they been all my life?
Potato chips are America’s favorite snack food and are second in world consumption only to rice. They were invented in Sarasota, New York in the summer of 1853 by George Crum, a cook at the Moon Lake Lodge. In an attempt to please a customer who felt his French fries were too thick, he sliced the potato super thin, fried it and topped it with a little salt. BAM! Potato Chips were born. Magical, isn’t it? Some even say that the picky customer was none other than Cornelius Vanderbilt.
According to the Foodtime Line Website, Potato Chip Cookies first arrived on the scene in 1946 as part of a marketing technique to promote the use of brand name products in recipes. Genius, in my opinion and it’s still done today. Big brands in the food industry like Kraft and Pillsbury hire people to come up with recipes that use their products. Over time different versions of the recipe appeared in various publications and then seemed to disappear.
It wasn’t until a few years ago, while Benji and I were going through vintage cookbooks we found at a yard sale, that we discovered these sweet and salty treats. At that time, we never could have expected that cookie recipe would take us so far. We have since revised that recipe, tweaked it more times than I can count, and made it our own. We have made hundreds of these cookies. (I may or may not have eaten hundreds of these cookies.)
Since my husband has advised me that he would have to kill me if I posted his recipe, I have decided to forgo sharing it. Sorry about that. I can, however, post the original recipe we found. =)
Potato Chip Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup finely crushed potato chips
Cream together the first four ingredients; add flour. Add potato chips and nuts. Mix well. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until lightly brown.
In addition to these cookies tasting awesome, I’d like to leave you with a few other things they are good for:
-Making friends (I have trouble with that sometimes.)
-Avoiding late fees. I mean seriously, who wouldn’t waive a couple of $$ for some of these babies.
-Making up with your love. It works or we wouldn't be here.
-Getting out of a speeding ticket.
-Getting an A on that report. (Apples have nothing on potato chip cookies.)
-Brownie (or cookie) points with your boss. Soon you’ll be strolling in 5 minutes late with no worries.
-Getting out of trouble for breaking curfew… um no, actually, they won’t do that. At least, not in our house.
If baking is not your thing, fear not!! Order online or call us and take advantage of convenient 2-Day Shipping or Free Local Delivery. <3 #peaceloveandcookies