These Maple Pecan Potato Chip Shortbread Cookies feature a deliciously balanced salty/sweet flavor profile and are easy to make! They’re a fun addition to a festive holiday cookie tray.
I think food-related gifts are the best gifts, whether its a celebratory meal youre sharing or a plate of homemade treats. Or better yet, a tried and true family recipe.
One of the biggest perks of being a food blogger is that when people hear what I do for a living, their eyes light up and their ears perk up, and they immediately ask me if I have a great recipe for such-and-such, or if Ive ever tried this-or-that.
They tell me about their favorite dishes what they ate growing up and what they make for their own families. The foods theyve eaten while traveling, and the places they hope to go because theyre dying to submerge themselves in the cuisine of the region. If Im lucky, theyll talk about a dish thats been in their family for generations, and tell me how exactly what occasions their great grandma used to make her special Chocolate Velvet Cake or about their uncle’s famous Chicken and Leek Fricassee.
Some memories are so intertwined with food that its nearly impossible to determine whether a meal was special because of the occasion, or if the meal was the special occasion. These are the stories I consider it an honor to be privy to.
And sometimes, if Im really lucky, people will gift my friends and family with food stories or recipes to give to me.
I first heard of potato chip cookies three Christmases ago when one of my dads customers gave him the recipe during the holiday season to give to me. He had been telling her how his daughter was a food blogger, and the woman wanted to share one of her familys favorite holiday cookie recipes with me. I meant to share the recipe a while ago, but truthfully, it slipped my mind and life got in the way, as it tends to do. I was reminded of these lovely cookies when we had them for dessert one night during the Idaho Potato Tour last September.
So here they are now. The recipe I was gifted by my dads customer was a bit more basic, more similar to classic shortbread but with the added crunch from potato chips. Its fabulous. However, I wanted to put my own spin on it and I went with the addition of maple and pecans. If youre a fan of that flavor combo, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.
In this recipe I used Bobs Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour, which is freshly milled from organic hard red wheat without any additives. Both the bran and the germ have been removed, leaving the endosperm that is made into white flour. This is the flour that I keep stocked in my own pantry; its incredibly versatile and is my go-to for traditional baking. And if youve been following my blog for a while now, you probably already know how much I stand behind the quality of Bobs Red Mill products; I had the honor of featuring Bob on my blog a while ago and had the pleasure of meeting him face-to-face this year! He is as kind in person as youd expect. If you want to try their products for yourself, you can head over to this page for a Bobs Red Mill coupon.
Back to these cookies for a minute. They are always a hit, and if people can see the potato chips in them, theyre immediately intrigued. This is why I like to use the potato chips with ridges; they tend to show a little better (the un-ridged kind of potato chips will work fine too though). Flavor-wise, these cookies are pretty well-balanced without being overly salty or sweet. Next time I make them, Im thinking of amping up the salt a touch and going the salted route (because I love the salty/sweet profile!) and adding a little sprinkle of sea salt to the top of each cookie before baking. Take note that the overall saltiness of the cookies will depend on how salty your chips are; be sure to use unsalted butter so you have more control over the salt level of these cookies, and taste your chips before you decide to add a sprinkle of sea salt on top of each cookie.
These would be a lovely addition to a festive cookie platter!
- 1 cup (230 g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ¾ teaspoon maple flavor
- 1½ cups (190 g) Bobs Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour
- 1 cup (100 g) toasted pecans, chopped
- 1½ cups (90 g) coarsely crushed salted potato chips (I used the kind with ridges)
- Preheat oven to 325F; line 2 large baking sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter, sugar, and maple flavor, and then mix in the flour. Fold in the pecans and potato chips.
- Use a 1½-tablespoon scoop to measure out the dough and drop it onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1½ inches between each cookie.
- Bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom, about 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the trays once halfway through.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the trays before removing.
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Beautiful work! For my purposes, I would probably try to make these gluten-free/ even paleo, but I agree that if you can eat wheat flour, organic is absolutely the way to go. As for your opening here, about how stories of food connect us all….. I couldn’t agree more. I think there is something so primal about wanting to feed those we love, or sharing our thoughts and feeling through food. And I can’t help but think it’s incredibly sweet your dad’s co-worker really wanted you to have this recipe!
Whoa! Don’t mind if I dip mine in some chocolate first, mmm!!
What a yummy flavor combination!
I love salty and sweet together – I think this cookie is everything I love in one!
The best meals and occasions are when you can’t tell the difference between the two. And Christmas cookie season always feels that way with those you love.
I am ALL about the sweet & salty combo! These cookies sound amazing! I need to make them asap. :)
It’s so true that some of the best recipes are ones with great stories behind them. The sweet and salty combination in these cookies is so appealing to me!
Sweet, salty crunchy perfection!
I love a good salty sweet cookie, these are perfection!