Maida Heatter's Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies--with Potato Chips

My faded 1977 copy of her first book

My expert hairstylist Maria, who is also a talented baker, mentioned  Maida Heatter's Key Largo oatmeal cookies last week. We then launched into a conversation about her recent death at 102 years old, and this kooky recipe with a secret ingredient. I've baked many oatmeal cookies in my life but never one with potato chips. I had to have the recipe. I hoped that it would be in Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies, which I own.        

My small collection of her many cookbooks

I went home and checked all of my Maida Heatter cookbooks for the recipe and came up empty. Then I went online and tried to locate Key Largo oatmeal cookies. I found nothing linking Ms Heatter to Key Largo cookies. The only recipe I found for these cookies was from a website called The Family Cookbook Project which listed Nancy Watson as the contributor. No mention of Maida Heatter.  Here's the reference:

Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

  Tried it? Rate this Recipe: 

  

 

This recipe for Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies, by Nancy Watson, is from The McCormick Family Cookbook, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We'll help you start your own personal cookbook! It's easy and fun.  Click here to start your own cookbook

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I started to wonder if the  the Key Largo cookie was actually a Maida Heatter original. I suspected it was, since she lived had lived in Florida her entire baking career, so I kept searching and finally found the  attribution in a website I have come across before called  Eat Your Books. It's a frustrating site because, though it highlights the recipe you're looking for and includes all the publication details, it only gives the ingredients but doesn't include the directions. I personally am not confident enough to waste time and money on a recipe lacking such important information. At least I did confirm that the recipe is included in Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great cookies which is one of many of hers that I don't own.  

Now I had the full recipe from The Cookbook Project and I knew it was included in a Maida Heatter book. All that was left was to buy a bag of potato chips and start baking. I soon made a batch and declared them winners. They are now included in my bulging file of favorite oatmeal cookies. As Maida said "Baking cookies is a great escape. It's fun. It's happiness. It's creative. It's good for your health. It reduces stress"

Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies (reprinted from The Cookbook Project)

4 oz salted potato chips
6 oz (1 1/2 C) walnuts
2 C sifted unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 packed C light brown sugar
2 eggs graded large
2 C old-fashioned (not instant) oatmeal
10 oz (2 c) dried pitted sour cherries (raisins or cranberries could be substituted. Or a combination of all or any two. I use only the cherries.)

 

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350º. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or aluminum foil, shiny side up and set aside. Place the potato chips in a plastic or paper bag and squeeze the bag a few times with both hands to break the pieces just a bit. They should be coarse, not fine. They should measure 2 packed cups, set aside. Break the walnuts into large pieces. Set aside. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft.. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat until mixed. Add the eggs and beat to mix. The add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed only until incorporated. Add the oatmeal and beat to mix. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Transfer the dough to a larger bowl (if you don't have one, you can do this in the same bowl, just not as easily.) With a heavy wooden spatula stir in the cherries and nuts. Finally, stir in the potato chips. The chips should still be visible. This takes a strong arm and some heavy stirring.   Each cookie should be made of 1/4 C dough. You can use two spoons and guess at the amount, a 1/4 C measuring cup or (this is best), or a small ice cream scoop (the scoop that measures 2 inches in diameter is the right size). Place a large piece of aluminum foil next to the sink and place the mounds any which way on the foil. Then wet your hands under cold water, shake them off, but do not dry them and with your damp hands roll a mound of dough into a ball, flatten it to about a 3/4 in. thickness and place it on a lined baking sheet. Continue to shape the cookies and place them 2 in. apart (no more than 6 on a 12 by 15 1/2 in. sheet. Keep your hands damp as necessary. Bake two sheets at a time for 18 to 20 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back twice during baking. (If you leave one sheet on the lower rack for too long, those cookies might become too dark on the bottoms). When done, the cookies should be lightly browned all over. Do not over bake. If you bake one sheet alone, bake it on the higher of the two racks and reverse it front to back once or twice during baking. When you bake one sheet alone, the cookies will bake in less time. Let them cool briefly, then with a wide metal spatula transfer them to racks to cool.   These can be stored in an airtight box or they can be wrapped two together (bottoms together) in clear cellophane, wax paper or aluminum foil. (Always store these two together, bottoms together).