Potato Chip Cookies...Um, Yeah

Usually when I work out, I have my iPad with me...listening to music, playing games, surfing the web...anything to distract me from the 45ish minutes of hell. So, I was a bit panicky a couple of weeks ago when I realized I had forgotten it at home. Luckily, the gym has quite the supply of magazines and after looking through an Us Weekly and a People, I moved on to Martha Stewart (I'm not very good at reading at the gym, so I was just kind of glancing at them in case you're wondering how I managed to get though so many).

Anyways, this long rambling introduction is simply to tell you that in the Martha Stewart magazine there was a recipe for Potato Chip Cookies. Excuse me? I'm not necessarily a huge potato chip fan, but the idea of including them in a cookie certainly had me intrigued. I thought they may make a good 4th of July contribution (cause potato chips are pretty American, right?), but I don't like to try out a new recipe when I plan to bring it to others, so I decided to try them out myself first.
And good thing I did because I can now share them with you...and my ringing endorsement... in time for you to make them for your own celebration if you wish. Truthfully, I did alter marthas recipe a bit, mainly by adding chocolate chips (pretty bold to mess with Martha, eh?), so the recipe below isn't the exact one in the magazine. And while I think adding the chocolate was a good choice, it doesn't kind of hide the potato chip flavor a bit, so proceed whichever way you please!

Potato Chip Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 4 cups potato chips (about 10 oz. bag), divided...(I used Lays)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted

1.  If pecans aren't already toasted, do so now!  To do so, heat oven to 350.  Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and place pecans on.  Bake about 4 minutes.

2.  Raise heat to 375.  Line a separate cookie sheet with parchment paper.

3.  Cream butter and sugars in bowl.  Add in vanilla and eggs and beat well.  

4.  Lower speed and add in flour, baking soda, and salt.  

5.  Stir in 1/2 potato chips (about 2 cups), pecans, and chocolate chips.

6.  Form balls that are about 2 tsp. in size (***these are going to make some pretty big cookies).  Bake 15-20 minutes.