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08/28/2001 Archived Entry: "Back-To-School Potato Chip Cookies"

I have a listener named Oma, which anyone who knows German will recognize as the word “grandma.” Her real name is Rosel, but she insists I call her Oma. “Everyone, and I do mean everyone, calls her Oma,” says her daughter Marianne.

I will tell you that she is 91 years old only because she tells everyone. She doesn’t brag about it, although she could, because she is still very beautiful, still a force to contend with, and still a superb baker. I know that because she has brought me cookies, sent me cookies, and shared the following recipe with me.

Here’s a little bio of Oma that was sent to me by her very loving daughter, Marianne.

“Oma emigrated to this country when she was 15 years old. She had a gift for cooking and baking, and eventually became a head cook for a family in Mount Vernon. Her dinner party reputation grew and, as she so often tells us, there were very few cook books available in those days for reference. Everything came from ‘within’.

“Eventually, she married. I came along and she settled into life as a housewife and mom. Cooking and baking continued to be her passion. My teachers waited for her Christmas cookies, then my two children’s teachers waited for Oma’s cookies. Now the mention of “Oma’s cookies” guarantees visitors to our house! When the holidays roll around, she is still responsible for dessert. Since everyone has a favorite, the table usually resembles a bakery. We get stollen, fruitcake, cakes, pies, rugulach, and cookies. We get apple fritters, donuts, fresh applesauce and challah.

“But Arthur, it is not only baking that Oma enjoys. She takes great pride in her cooking. So, when the mood strikes, we get roladen (complete with potato dumplings, creamed spinach and red cabbage, all homemade), blintzes, goulash, various soups, and her German potato salad (which people have been trying to convince her to market for years ... it is like no other). She has the patience to cook or bake the same thing over and over until it turns out to be her liking. We are now waiting for her to resurrect the fried chicken and eggplant parmesan recipes.

“Oma has been a widow now for four years. She still lives in and maintains her own home. She continues to stand in the kitchen despite arthritis. She just derives so much joy from doing for others. That is what keeps her going. That, and her devotion to ‘my Arthur’ who is constantly stimulating her curiosity about a new recipe or a variation on an old one.”


Oma’s Potato Chip Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

I know that the idea of potato chip cookies seems too kitschy for words, but these are wonderfully buttery, well-flavored cookies and when I first ate one I had no idea they were made with potato chips. Of all the cookies in the tin that Oma gave me, this was the one for which I had to have the recipe, and I was truly surprised to read the ingredient list.

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup crushed potato chips

For the topping:
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 teaspoons very finely chopped or ground walnuts

In a mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon, briefly cream the butter and sugar together.

With a fork, beat together the egg yolk and vanilla and stir into the butter-sugar mixture.

Stir in the walnuts, flour, and crushed potato chips just until a uniform dough is formed.

Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour (the dough can be frozen).

Using a rounded teaspoonful, form the dough into balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using a table fork, in a cris-cross fashion, flatten the cookies to about 1/4 inch thick.

Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle each cookie lightly with pinches of the topping mixture.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are very lightly browned around the edges. Cool on a rack.