Father's Day cookies are the perfect homemade cookies to share with Dad. The recipe makes soft and thick cookies loaded with potato chips, chocolate chips, peanuts and topped with a pretzel. So wish Dad a happy day with cookies from the kids!
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Looking for a great cookie recipe to spoil your dad or husband with? How about one that is also great for the kids to help with?
I don't know about the guys in your life, but neither my dad nor my husband care for decorated sugar cookies. Both of them are more of a peanut butter pie, brownies or butterscotch pretzel cookies kind of guy. But I also know they both can rarely never turn down a freshly made homemade cookie!
This recipe is an adaptation of my friend Dee's Monday Night Football Cookies, which can be found in her cookbook Baking Science. We first made these cookies last year when little e wanted to make cookies for Dad on Father's Day, so we have affectionately named them Father's Day cookies.
💗 why Dad will love these homemade cookies
- Salty + sweet ~ with the potato chips, peanuts, pretzels and chocolate chips you get the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
- Texture ~ Father's Day cookies are thick, while being soft and chewy.
- Make them your own ~ swap the milk chocolate for dark chocolate or the peanuts for almonds or walnuts.
🍪 ingredients and substitutions
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
- All-purpose flour ~ adds structure to the Father's Day cookies. If not using a kitchen scale, be sure to fluff the flour in the container; then spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with a flat surface. I haven't tested it, but feel pretty confident a 1 to 1 gluten free flour substitute will work fine. Dee used cake flour in her recipe; I have included how to use that in the recipe card notes below.
- Baking powder ~ adds some lift and thickness to the cookies.
- Cornstarch ~ adds softness to the easy cookies.
- Butter ~ I prefer to bake with unsalted butter so I can control the saltiness. If you only have salted butter, leave out the kosher salt. The butter should be room temperature, which is colder than you think! 65°F is the temperature you should be aiming for. I use my Thermapen to quickly check the butter temperature.
- Kosher salt ~ helps balance the flavors and sweetness. If you only have table salt, start with half the amount.
- Brown sugar ~ I prefer dark brown sugar, but light brown also works just fine.
- Granulated sugar ~ adds sweetness and moisture to the cookies.
- Eggs ~ two large eggs are needed, preferably at room temperature.
- Vanilla ~ pure vanilla extract adds flavor to the homemade cookies.
- Chocolate chips ~ milk chocolate chips just seemed like the right fit here, but you do you and use your favorite. Dark chocolate, chocolate chunks and even white chocolate would all be delicious.
- Potato chips ~ plain, thin potato chips, like a classic Lays are what work best.
- Pretzels ~ mini twisted pretzels add a little crunch to each cookie.
- Peanuts ~ salted peanuts are what I used. I'm sure dry roasted would also be delicious!
Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.
🥣 how to make loaded chocolate chip cookies
Cream butter with kosher salt on medium-high with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer for 30 seconds.
Then add the granulated and brown sugars and mix on low until incorporated, then turn up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.
Now scrape down your bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium-high until combined, about 30-45 seconds per egg. Add the vanilla with the second egg.
Sprinkle the baking powder and cornstarch over the wet ingredients and mix on medium until combined. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and blend until just a few streaks of flour remain.
I find the easiest way to crush the potato chips is to place them in a zip-top bag. You can use your hands or a rolling pin to crush them into small pieces.
Add in half the potato chip crumbs, chopped peanuts and milk chocolate chips and mix on low until just combined. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
Once the Father's Day cookie dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Using a cookie scoop {I use a size 30 scoop}, take each cookie dough ball and roll in the reserved potato chip crumbs, completely covering each cookie.
Then place on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart and gently press 1 pretzel into the center of each cookie. I find gently pressing in the middle section of the pretzel is the best way to keep it from breaking.
Bake 12-14 minutes, until edges are lightly browned, but centers still look soft and unset. Use a large round cutter to “scoot” the cookies into a perfectly round shape, if desired.
Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
💬 frequently asked questions
are Father's Day cookies the same as kitchen sink cookies?
I think you could definitely consider these cookies a kitchen sink cookie!
what are the best potato chips for cookies?
In my recipe testing, I found a thin, classic potato chip worked best for these cookies. I used Trader Joe's Ode to the Classic Potato Chip.
how do you get thick and chewy cookies?
The baking powder definitely helps with this homemade cookie recipe. Chilling the dough in the refrigerator also firms up the cookie dough, which helps the cookies to bake up thick and chewy.
👩🏻🍳 expert tips for the best soft cookies
- Place the potato chips in a zip-top bag to crush them for less mess!
- Use a scale to measure your ingredients. I know I say this all the time, but weighing your ingredients is the most accurate and will give the best results. This is the scale I use in my kitchen.
- Chill the dough! Allowing the dough to chill an hour will yield a thicker cookie. If you can't wait, chill the cookie dough for at least 45 minutes.
- Use real butter, not margarine for the best tasting cookies.
- Do not grease your cookie pans, which can make your cookies spread more. Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats instead.
- Don't over bake the cookies! You want to remove the Father's Day cookies from the oven when the edges are set and the middle is still a little soft.
🫙 how to store
Cookies stay fresh in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Baked Father's Day cookies freeze well, in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these Father's Day Cookies. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
more desserts to make Dad from the kids
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Father's Day Cookies
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature 226g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed 100g
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150g
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch 5g
- 2 cups all-purpose flour* 250g
- 4.2 ounces plain potato chips finely crushed and divided 120g
- 2 tablespoons salted peanuts chopped 18g
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips 180g
- 24 mini twisted pretzels
Instructions
- Cream butter (1 cup/226g) with kosher salt (½ teaspoon) on medium-high with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (speed 6 on a KitchenAid) or using a hand mixer for 30 seconds. Then add the granulated (¾ cup/150g) and brown (½ cup/100g) sugars and mix on low until incorporated, then turn up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, stop and scrape the bowl at least once during this time.
- Scrape down your bowl and add the eggs (2 large), one at a time, mixing on medium-high (speed 6) until combined, about 30-45 seconds per egg. Add the vanilla (1 teaspoon) with the second egg. Scrape up and down your bowl again.
- Sprinkle the baking powder (1 teaspoon) and cornstarch (2 teaspoons/5g) over the wet ingredients and mix on medium (speed 4) until combined, about 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and blend until just a few streaks of flour remain. Scrape up and down the bowl.
- Add in half the potato chip crumbs, chopped peanuts (2 tablespoons/18g) and milk chocolate chips (1 cup/180g) and mix on low until just combined.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a cookie scoop (I use a size 30 scoop. Each cookie dough ball weighs 44g), take each cookie dough ball and roll in the reserved potato chip crumbs, completely covering each cookie. Then place on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart and gently press 1 pretzel into the center of each cookie. I find gently pressing in the middle section of the pretzel is the best way to keep it from breaking.
- Bake 12-14 minutes, until edges are lightly browned, but centers still look soft and unset. Use a large round cutter to “scoot” the cookies into a perfectly round shape, if desired.
- Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Michelle says
These cookies are loaded with so many goodies! They remind me of compost or ranger cookies 🙂 Perfect treat for Dad!
Tasia says
Thank you Michelle! They definitely have been loved by the men in my life!
Jill says
My husband and boys enjoy the sweet and salty combination so I had to make them. We all loved them!
Margaret says
These are an awesome combo of ingredients! I found I had 30 cookies when weighing ingredients, and they took about 18 minutes to get brown on the edges.