Amelia Bedelia's Chocolate "Chip" Cookies

I freakin' love Amelia Bedelia.  From the time that she dressed the chicken by making it a little suit to wear, she was my favorite.  And I love the way she fixes everything with food... though, you'd think that, since she's such a wonderful cook, she'd know that "trim a steak" doesn't mean to decorate it with ribbons and lace. 
Anyway.
My favorite of the Amelia Bedelia books is Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping.  At the end of it, she makes what she calls Chocolate Chip Cookies - chocolate cookies with potato chips in them!  I can't help it.  I've always wanted to make them.  And so, 20+ years after I first heard about them, I finally did it. 
I found a few potato-chip-cookie recipes online, but nothing like what I pictured Amelia Bedelia's cookies to be like - chocolate cookies with potato chips - so, I made my own recipe, which is loosely based on one in the family recipe book.  Here it is:


Amelia Bedelia's Chocolate Chip Cookies

 1 package (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into chunks

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 individual-size bags of potato chips (I used kettle cooked - plain flavor, please!)

1. Preheat oven to 325.  Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Combine the chocolate chips and the butter in a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds; stir.  Repeat as necessary until the chips are melted and mixture is smooth. 

3. In a different bowl, beat the eggs and the vanilla until blended and frothy.  Add sugar; beat until thick and light.  Add the chocolate and beat until well blended.

4. In a third bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and beat until blended.  Crush the potato chips into smallish flakes (not powder), and stir in.  The dough will be soft and sticky. 

5. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 14-18 minutes or until cookies are firm to the touch.  Cool on cookie sheets for two minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

As odd as this sounds, these cookies are amazingly addictive.  I love them.  I hope everything else I make tastes as good as I thought it would when I first read about it.