Welcome to the weekly College Football Tailgate Party and Linky! I’m one of your co-hosts for this weekly event and am so excited to be taking part in it. Be sure to join us every week for Football Friday: ideas for crafts, recipes, parties, and more all related to College Football!!!
I’m so happy that college football is back for another year! Love to call my hogs – wooooo pig sooie! And what would college football be without some tailgating? But since I live 1000 miles away from my beloved Razorbacks, I guess I’m going to have to do some home-gating. When I think of getting together and watching a football game, I always think of salty snacks like peanuts, potato chips, and pretzels. But hey, if you’re going to have a celebration, you need a little sugar, right? So, what about a cookie that combines both of them? These would be perfect for serving at home while catching your favorite college team on TV or for taking along into the stands as a little 3rd quarter pick-me-up.
Super Yummy Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I actually used the golden kind for a bit lighter taste)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 lg. eggs
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups broken rippled potato chips (coarsely broken, not crumbs)
1 cup small pretzels, broken up into pieces (about 1/2 “)
The original recipe called for peanuts to be added to it but that didn’t appeal to me. If it appeals to you, add about 1/2 cup. After I made them, I decided that another great addition, especially for MY family, would be to throw some candied bacon on top.
To make candied bacon: For 6 slices, you’re going to need about 1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar. I just toss the bacon with the sugar so it’s coated. I cover a baking sheet with either parchment paper or nonstick foil (I find I prefer the parchment), lay the bacon on that, sprinkle on any remaining sugar (and any additions you want – I often add some fresh coarsely cracked pepper to it but you might want to experiment with other seasonings or just leave it as is with simply the sugar), and then cover it all with another sheet of parchment or foil. Top with a second baking sheet to help keep the bacon flat as it cooks. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes and then check it. It might need another 10-15 minutes but just know that when you take it out of the oven and let it cool down a bit, it will crisp up more so don’t overdo it. AND whatever you do, don’t raise the oven temp – it needs low, slow cooking for best results! Ok, back to how to make these cookies (and let me tell you, they are quick and simple!!!).
Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F – if you’re making the bacon, I would just raise the temp once you get the bacon out of the oven so you’re all good to go! Stir together the flour and baking soda. In another bowl, combine the butter, both kinds of sugar, and vanilla and beat until it’s creamy. Add the flour mixture a little at a time. Now, stir in your additions: the chips and pretzels….peanuts if you’re adding those. I’d save the bacon to either crumble or put one little candied bacon “chip” right on top of each cookie. Drop by rounded spoonful onto cookie sheets – ungreased ones but I found it helpful to use nonstick ones or some parchment. Now here’s the thing – you don’t want these cookies to be too small – with all the chunks of stuff in them, they don’t work well that way. So you want to use at least a tablespoon. I wanted them bigger so I just used the wooden spoon I had been stirring with for that. I got about 1 1/2 dozen cookies out of this mixture doing that size. If you’re using the bacon, add that to the top of each cookie and then bake for about 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. (Sneak one while still a bit warm!)
Join the party add your football fun to the linky below!
Nena Sinclair says
Yum! I love sweet & salty! I’ve definitely gotta give these a try! Thanks for sharing! 🙂