Chips Off the Old Block Cookies

Coconut Layer Cake Murder

The following recipe can double if you wish. Do hot, however, double the baking soda. Use one and half teaspoons if you double the recipe.

## Ingredients

* 1 cup softened, salted butter ***(2 sticks, ½ pound, 8 ounces)***
* 2 cups white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 3 Tablespoons molasses
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 beaten eggs ***(just whip them up in a glass with a fork)***
* 2 cups crushed salted potato chips ***(measure AFTER crushing) (I used regular thin unflavored Lay's potato chips)***
* 2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 1 cup peanut butter chips ***(I used Reese's Peanut Butter Chips)***
* 1 cup white chocolate chips or vanilla baking chips ***(I used Nestlé Vanilla Baking Chips)***

**Hannah's 1st Note: 5 to 6 cups of whole potato chips will *crush down* into about 2 cups. Crush them by hand in a plastic bag, not with a food processor. If you use a food processor, they will crush too much and end up being too fine. If you crush them by hand, they will end up being the size of coarse gravel.**

## Directions

* Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.
* Mix the softened butter with the white sugar and the molasses. Beat them until the mixture is light and fluffy, and the molasses is completely mixed in.
* Add the vanilla and baking soda. Mix them in thoroughly.
* If you haven't already done so, break the eggs into a glass and whip them up with a fork.
* Add the whipped eggs to your bowl and mix them in until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
* If you haven't yet crushed your potato chips, place them in a closeable plastic bag. Seal the bag carefully. ***(You don't want crushed potato chips scattered all over your kitchen counter.)***

**Hannah's 2nd Note: If you crush the potato chips too much, you won't have the right texture or crunch in your cookies.**

* Place the sealed bag on a flat surface and crush the chips inside with your fingers. Don't stop until the pieces are the size of coarse gravel.
* Measure out 2 cups of crushed potato chips and mix them into the dough in your bowl.
* Add one cup of flour and mix it in.
* Add the second cup of flour and mix thoroughly.
* Add the final half-cup of flour and mix that in.
* Measure out one cup of peanut butter chips and add them to your cookie dough. If you're using an electric mixer, mix them in at the slowest speed. You can also take the bowl out of the mixer and stir in the chips by hand.
* Measure out one cup of white chocolate chips or vanilla baking chips. Stir those into your dough.
* Cover your mixing bowl with a clean towel or a sheet of plastic wrap. Let your cookie dough sit on the counter while you prepare your cookie sheets.
* Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cookie spray. Alternatively, you can line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: If you use the parchment paper, leave a little extra paper at the top and the bottom. That way, when your cookies are baked, you can pull the paper, baked cookies and all, over onto a wire rack to cool.**

* Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoons onto your cookie sheets. You can fit 12 cookies on each standard-sized sheet.

**Hannah's 4th Note: Lisa and I use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop at The Cookie Jar. It's faster than doing it with a spoon.**

* Bake your Chips Off the Old Block Cookies at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are nicely browned. ***(Mine took 11 minutes.)***
* Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove them with a metal spatula.
* Transfer the warm baked cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen crunchy, salty, and sweet cookies. Kids love these cookies.

**Hannah's 5th Note: Be sure to tell your cookie-eating guests that there are peanut butter chips in these cookies.**