Double Chipping (Butterscotch Potato Chip Balls)
The classic potato chip cookie, updated in The Vintage Baker by Jessie Sheehan. Add butterscotch chips and triple the amount of potato chips, for the new and improved, Version 2.0 of Potato Chip Cookie. I found these cookies by way of Ipso Fatto a favorite blog I follow. How could I pass up a cookie described as chewy, crunchy, buttery, rolled in Kettle potato chips and studded with butterscotch chips? I couldn’t and I didn’t.
These are a snap to put together. You start with melted butter, no waiting for butter to soften and you can bake off a batch without chilling the dough. That’s almost like instant cookies in my book.
Chips Matter
For my first batch, I purchased the only Kettle chips I could find at Whole Foods, their house brand, I like Whole Foods, and shop there often, do not buy their Kettle Chips…bleah, flat and tasteless. For my second batch, I used Cape Cod’s Kettle Chips. Did it make a difference in the cookies? I think so. Saltier and crunchier. It made a difference with the extra chips left in each bag. Much to my chagrin, I polished off the rest of the Cape Cod Chips in a New York minute. The moral of the story is to use your favorite Kettle chips.
Butterscotch chips are not commonplace in my kitchen. The few times I used them, I wasn’t thrilled with the texture or taste, they always seemed a bit artificial. After an exhaustive search (King Arthur Flour website), I got Guittard’s Butterscotch chips. They are surprisingly flavorful. It would have been nice if they were “meltier” like chocolate chips. Ipso Fatto used caramelized white chocolate or “blond chocolate” for the butterscotch but it is both hard to find and pretty pricey. By all means, use the chips you like the most, that’s what counts. This recipe doesn’t use the entire bag of butterscotch chips, lucky for you I have another tasty cookie recipe that calls for melted butterscotch chips-Butterscotch Cookies, from The Perfect Cookie.
The recipe calls for putting the potato chips into the dough and crushing them as you mix the dough. That leaves some big chips in the dough. rushed the chips before adding them to the batter.
Chill the dough for a bit so the cookies don’t spread a lot. Use a 1.5 tablespoon scoop which makes a 2-1/2 inch diameter cookie. As soon as they come out of the oven flatten them with a spatula and push in the sides to make them round (optional). Y’all probably know this but ice cream/cookie scoops are PERFECT for making uniform cookies. I have had mine for ages (made in Italy, not China-that’s how old they are). If you have a baker in your family, scoops would make great stocking stuffers.
Chip Off the Old Cookie
These cookies are delicious. I took a batch to my professional testers (my co-workers), and they gobbled them up. The potato chips add a nice crunch and saltiness, the butterscotch chips add sweetness, the touch of flaked salt at the end accentuates the sweet-salty “thang” and butter is butter, say no more. The over-the-top factor-potato chips mixed in the dough and the dough then rolled in more chips, that’s what I call the “double-chip hit”. Run, don’t walk to your kitchen, and make a batch now.
Butterscotch–Potato Chip Balls Potato Chip Balls
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Decrease the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and yolk, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl aer 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.
- 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 leover crushed chips, and evenly place 12 on the prepared baking sheet.
- 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.
- Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
- 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.
The recipe can be found on Epicurious.com
