Since I have committed to writing every day during the month of November, I have decided that, in addition to my usual Thursday Menu Planning post, I will assign myself regular gigs for the remaining days of the week so that if I have a day when I am feeling more Sandra Lee than M.F.K. Fisher, I can still post something that is (I hope) of use to you, gentle reader. Here’s what I think I’m going to do:
Sundays: Bests and Worsts. Best and worst meal ever, cookbook, cooking show, kitchen implements, etc..
Mondays: Heirloom Recipes. I will extract from my mother the recipes for things like both grandmothers’ baked beans and my Jewish grandmother’s Chicken Paprikash.
Tuesdays: Random Dinner Snapshot. Whatever we really ate for dinner, photograph, recipe and reviews.
Wednesdays: Thanksgiving Planner. I am”doing” Thanksgiving this year, and will document menu planning, recipes, trial runs, etc..
Thursdays: Menu Planning Day, as always.
Fridays: Dessert Day. Starting today, I will provide at least one tried-and-true dessert recipe of some sort every Friday.
Saturday: Rant and Rave Day. I will address a food-related issue that drives me crazy, or express my gratitude for something wonderful. Either way, expert relatively little in terms of concrete, usable information.
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Today being Friday, I’ll start you off with a strange but wonderful recipe I found in a pamphlet-type cookbook assembled by the Williamston, Michigan Area Senior Center. The book is compilation of recipes both retro and recent, with (my favorite part) stories and reminiscences written by some of the seniors. This recipe for Potato Chip Cookies caught my eye one day when I happened to have a bag of potato chips that had been pillaged and abandoned by the boys, and contained nothing but greasy, salty chip rubble. I hate to waste anything, and with this recipe handy, I can add one more item to my list of recyclable foods.
There is some sort of ingredient alchemy that takes place in these cookies; it results in a salty-sweet flavor that I associate with many great foods including PayDay candy bars and Beer Nuts. I have no business eating either, and at the moment I’m not, but I would love to think that someone, somewhere was knee-deep in my favorite cosmic flavor experience while I stick to Kashi and Greek Yogurt.
Potato Chip Cookies
(from “A Taste of History” Volume 4, Number 1, Written and Produced by The Williamston Area Senior Center; Submitted by Marge Stillwell)
- 1 cup shortening (I have used both butter and butter-flavored Crisco)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups rolled (crushed) potato chips (Note: this should be fairly obvious, but the potato chips can’t be barbecue, salt and vinegar, cheddar or otherwise flavored. They also can’t be baked, Pringled or anything other than standard cooked-in-oil chips).
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup chopped nutmeats (I use pecans, although walnuts or chopped peanuts would be yummy and chopped hazelnuts or macadamia nuts would be elegant)
- 2 cups sifted flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Mix first three ingredients together until light and fluffy. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Drop onto a greased cookie sheet and bake in a 375-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.