I discovered a recipe for Chip Balls in Good Housekeeping’s Book of Cookies (1958) and realized that folks have been putting crazy add-ins like potato chips in their cookies since the mid-1950s. I’m a huge fan of cookies like this, particularly if the ingredients combine the sweet and the salty in new ways. So I took the Chip Balls recipe and added butterscotch chips, which pair with salt so beautifully. Then I quadrupled the amount of potato chips called for, rolled the balls in crushed potato chips, and finished them with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 36 cookies

　　2 1/3 cups [325 g] all-purpose flour

　　1 tsp baking soda

　　1 tsp table salt

　　1 cup [180 g] butterscotch chips

　　1 cup [220 g] unsalted butter, melted

　　1 cup [200 g] packed light brown sugar

　　1/2 cup [100 g] granulated sugar

　　1 egg

　　1 egg yolk

　　2 tsp pure vanilla extract

　　5 cups [175 g] kettle-style potato chips

　　Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

　　

Step 2

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and whisk together. Add the butterscotch chips and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the melted butter and sugars on medium-high speed until thick, light, and glossy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

　　

Step 3

Decrease the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and yolk, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients all at once, mixing just to combine. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add 3 cups [105 g] of the potato chips to the dough, combining and crushing the chips with a rubber spatula.

　　

Step 4

In a small bowl, crush the remaining 2 cups [70 g] potato chips. Scoop the dough into 1 1/2-tablespoon balls with a cookie scoop or measuring spoon, rolling each ball in the leftover crushed chips, and evenly place 12 on the prepared baking sheet.

　　

Step 5

Sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating at the halfway point, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and press down on each cookie with a spatula to slightly flatten.

　　

Step 6

Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

　　

Step 7

Let cool briefly and serve warm, because who doesn't love a cookie warm from the oven? The cookies will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.

　　From The Vintage Baker: More Than 50 Recipes From Butterscotch Pecan Curls to Sour Cream Jumbles © 2018 by Jessie Sheehan. Published by Chronicle Books.Buy the full book from Amazon.