Potato Chips Are The Surprising Ingredient For Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know most of you may not associate potato chips with your favorite baked treats, but please keep an open mind. Historically, I have always been a fan of the classic combination of sweet and salty. Snacks like kettle corn, chocolate and nut trail mix, even the kid-favorite of ants on a log are very much still a part of my diet.

After a recent weekend of binge watching the newest season of the Netflix series Chef's Table: Pastry, I was inspired to try something new. The first episode follows the James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, TV personality, an all-around all-star Christina Tosi. This playful genius, who is the backbone to the famed Milk Bar empire, takes you on an journey that reveals how her modern approach to baking all derives from memories based on her favorite childhood flavors.

After watching Tosi recreate Milk Bar's crazed Compost Cookie, and keeping her cooking philosophy very much in mind, I had an idea...

I love chocolate chip cookies, and I love good old classic potato chips — so why not marry the two together? Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand, so I thought I should give this a try. I simply used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and at the end, gently folded a few handfuls (3 cups, to be exact) of plain potato chips into the dough, allowing them to naturally crumble. I formed and arranged the cookies on a baking sheet as I normally would, and baked them at the same setting that the recipe stated. Ten minutes later, the cookies were done and had a beautiful golden hue to them.

After I patiently allowed the cookies to cool (the hardest part of this experiment), I sat down with a nice cold glass of milk for the official taste test. It was a SUCCESS! The potato chips not only added a salty dimension to the cookie that balanced out the sweetness, but also added additional crunch and texture to the outside ring of the cookie, leaving the center still chewy.

These were so good that after I finished enjoying the batch, I vowed to only bake chocolate chip cookies this way going forth. So next time you are looking to step up your baking game and impress some friends, add some potato chips to these 12 chocolate chip cookie recipes for every taste.