Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Potato Chips

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Two types of chips are great in one cookie, but why not have three? Introducing Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies with POTATO CHIPS!

Now it might sound weird, but hear me out.

These are big, chunky, cookies with crisp edges, a chewy center, and loaded with butterscotch and chocolate chips. But what really turns these cookies up to an eleven is the surprising addition of salty, crunchy, potato chips.

It’s the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Of crisp and chewy. Of yin and yang really.

Plus, no dough chilling is needed and no softening butter is required for this recipe. You don’t even need a mixer–just one bowl and a wooden spoon.

P.S if you’re looking to make more chocolate chip cookie goodness make these Chocolate Chip Rice Krispie Treats, or my perfectly soft and chewy White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

How to make Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Potato Chips

Makes 13 cookies

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted and not too hot
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup of semisweet or dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of kettle cooked potato chips, finely crushed + plus a little extra for sprinkling.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350° and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugars and whisk in the melted butter until well mixed.

Add in the egg and the vanilla and whisk until well incorporated–about 30 seconds. 

To the wet ingredients, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough is almost fully combined, but streaks of flour are still showing.

Pour in the butterscotch, chocolate, and 1/2 cup of crushed potato chips, and finish mixing the dough until no streaks of flour remain and the chips are well distributed.

Scoop the cookie dough (2 tablespoon size or #30 cookie scoop) onto the baking sheets. Leave a couple of inches between each cookie to account for spreading.

Use two fingers and press lightly into the center of the cookies to make an indentation. This will help the cookies to bake evenly.

Allow the cookie dough to sit for 5-10 minutes on the pan before baking. This allows the flour to hydrate and keeps the cookies from spreading too quickly in the oven (see instructions below for making ahead)

Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few more crushed potato chips. 

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown and the centers are slightly undercooked.

Remove from the oven and allow cookies to sit on the pan until cool enough to eat. Enjoy!

What type of potato chips should I use?

I really like Cape Cod’s “40% Less Fat Kettle Cooked” variety of potato chips, in the flavor Sea Salt. They’re super thick and crunchy and hold up really well in the cookies after baking.

This is also the type of potato chip that America’s Test Kitchen uses for their Potato Chip Cookies and I usually do whatever they tell me.

I have tested this recipe with Wavy Lays and they work nicely too, but find that they soften pretty quick. With that being said, they’re a great flavor addition to the cookie since they still provide really nice bursts of salt in each bite. So they’re a perfectly good alternative to the kettle cooked.

But for both flavor balance and texture contrast, I go with the Kettle Cooked variety.

Why add potato chips to these butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies?

This is not a common ingredient to add to baked goods, but potato chips work really well for balancing out all the sweetness in these cookies.

The chocolate chip cookie dough alone is sweet, rich, and buttery, but with the addition of the butterscotch chips, the dough becomes even sweeter.

The salt from the potato chips will help to add contrast to the sweetness of the dough and create a really nice balance and unique texture. Each bite of cookie will give you a little burst of saltiness (without making the cookie salty) and add in little pops of crunch to an otherwise chewy cookie.

Potato chips are a totally optional ingredient though! If you opt-out of using them, I recommend adding a little sprinkle of sea salt to the top of your cookies, and they’ll be divine.

You can also swap out the potato chips for some finely chopped nuts or pretzels!

Making The Cookies Ahead

These cookies do really well when they sit in the fridge overnight or for up to 3 days!

If you want to make these butterscotch chocolate chip cookies ahead of time, prepare the recipe as stated above, up until the step where you can sprinkle the tops of the cookies with additional potato chips.

Instead, after you’ve scooped the dough and indented the centers, just pop them in the fridge until firm enough to store in a ziploc bag or airtight container. Then keep them in the fridge until you need them.

When you’re ready to bake, place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined sheet pan, sprinkle the tops with additional crushed potato chips, and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Can I freeze these cookies?

Yes! These cookies freeze really well. You can pop them in the freezer after they’re fully baked or freeze them in raw cookie form to bake later.

To freeze the raw dough, prepare the cookie dough as the recipe states and scoop cookies onto a sheet pan. Use two fingers to make an indentation in the center of each cookie dough ball just as the recipe states, but do not sprinkle the tops with additional potato chips at this point. Pop the raw cookie dough and sheet pan in the freezer.

Once the cookie dough balls are firm, move them to a freezer safe bag and store in the freezer until ready to bake!

When you’re ready to bake, place frozen cookies onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the tops with additional crushed potato chips (optional) and bake the cookies at 350° for 12-14 minutes.

Storing your Cookies

If you happen to have any of these butterscotch chocolate chip cookies leftover, store them in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Over time the potato chips will lose their crispness, but they’ll still offer little bursts of salt throughout the cookies–which is great.

But for best results eat these cookies fresh!

Other Recipes You Might Like:

Chocolate Chip Rice Krispie Treats

Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

M&M Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

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