Border Cookies

Some of my favorite holiday cookie recipes are those that smell extra delicious baking in the oven. These chocolate drizzled shortbread-like cookies are special not only because I grew up making them with my mom around the holidays but also because they have a very unexpected secret ingredient – potato chips! Surprisingly, the chips are subtle enough that they are hardly noticeable, but they give the cookie that extra saltiness everyone craves. These buttery little treats are definitely worth the indulgence this holiday season, and they are great for packaging up and sharing with friends and neighbors as a gesture of goodwill during this time of year.

Ingredients:

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
1/2 c. potato chips, crushed
2 c. all purpose flour
Extra sugar for dipping
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips, for drizzling
Parchment paper

Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and lining two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Use either a Kitchen Aid stand mixer or a hand held beater to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the salt and vanilla.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a wooden spoon to combine the chopped pecans and crushed potato chips into the mixture. I put the potato chips and the pecans into their own separate Ziploc baggies first and crushed each using a meat tenderizer. The finer the nuts and the chips, the more consistent your batter will be throughout.

Lastly, mix in the two cups of flour until just combined. This may seem like a lot of flour at first, but it will eventually mix in to make the cookies extra delicate.

Roll the batter into balls the size of a large gumball and place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart.

Butter the bottom of a heavy glass and dip into the extra sugar. Use the glass to flatten each ball into a circle by pressing and twisting. Be sure to recoat the glass with butter and sugar in between every few cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully melt the chocolate and use a fork to dip and drizzle it over the cooled cookies. If you need to package up the cookies right away, you can place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to let the chocolate set.

I love how the drizzled chocolatey cookies look displayed on this light marble. These cookies are visually appealing, so your guests will surely be intrigued by them. You can even ask your guests to guess the secret ingredient – just be sure to warn them of the pecans just in case anyone has a nut allergy.

If you are planning to bring these cookies or any other baked goods to a holiday celebration, these cardboard boxes are perfect for transporting or for gifting to the host!

Kitchen Aid classic tilt head stand mixer // holiday cookie boxes // marble pastry slab

Happy baking!
xo -L