Raisin and Almond Crunch Cookies

Raspberry Danish Murder

## Ingredients

* ½ cup salted butter, softened ***(1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)***
* ½ cup almond butter ***(I used Jif)***
* 1 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 large eggs, beaten ***(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 regular or golden raisins

**Hannah's 1st Note: 5 to 6 cups of whole potato chips will crush into about 2 cups.**

## Directions

* Preheat oven to 350°F rack in the middle position.
* Mix the softened, salted butter with the almond butter. Beat until they form a smooth mixture.
* Add the white sugar and the brown sugar. Beat them until the mixture is light and fluffy.
* Add the vanilla extract and the baking soda. Mix them in thoroughly.
* Break the eggs into a glass and whip them up with a whisk or a fork. Add them to your bowl and mix until they're thoroughly incorporated.
* Put your potato chips in a closeable plastic bag. Seal it carefully ***(you don't want crumbs all over your counter)*** and place the bag on a flat surface. Get out your rolling pin and roll it over the bag, crushing the potato chips inside. Do this until the pieces resemble coarse gravel. ***(If you crush them too much, you won't have any crunch left.)***
* Measure out 2 cups of crushed potato chips and add them to the mixing bowl. Stir until they're incorporated.
* Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition. ***(You don't have to be exact—just eyeball it and add what you think is a half cup at a time.)***
* If you're using an electric mixer, take the bowl out and scrape it down the sides with a rubber spatula.
* Add the cup of raisins to your cookie dough. Mix them in by hand with a wooden spoon.
* Let the dough sit on the counter while you prepare your cookie sheets.
* Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper, leaving little "ears" at the top and 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 your cookie dough by rounded teaspoons onto your cookie sheets, 12 cookies on each standard-sized sheet.

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

* Bake your Raisins and Almond Crunch Cookies at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. ***(Mine took 11 minutes.)***
* Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet. Then remove them with a metal spatula to wire racks to finish cooling. ***(If you used parchment paper, simply pull the paper over and onto the wire rack.)***

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen chewy, sweet and salty cookies that are sure to please everyone who tastes them.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: This recipe can be doubled if you wish, but do not double the baking soda. Just use the 1 teaspoon it calls for in the original recipe.**

**Hannah's 4th Note: These cookies are Norman's favorite. Of course he always says that any new cookie he tastes is his new favorite. Andrea likes them too, even though she claims to hate raisins.**