Not too long ago, I saw this recipe on the famous “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” blog.  I bookmarked it with plans to make it soon. The next day, someone from my Cooking Board made them.  The next day, someone else made them… And before I knew it, they were everywhere! Every time I saw them, my mouth would water.

So, now it’s finally my turn! I don’t have a potato masher so I used a meat tenderizer which worked just fine. I imagine that there are a lot of things in my kitchen that I could have used. You’re just smashing potatoes on a pan! I underestimated how much room they would take up so the potatoes were very close together. Next time I will use a larger pan. I added a little garlic powder but otherwise, I followed the recipe. I couldn’t wait to get these in (and out!) of the oven.  I anticipated them so much that I feared I might find them overrated and report that they were just alright. But, no. They were as good as everyone said they were. 🙂

Edit: The day after making these, I discovered that I do have a potato masher! Obviously, I never use it. Since then I’ve often used a glass which works very well also.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Ingredients

•  New Potatoes (or other small, round potato)
•  Olive Oil
•  Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Whatever herb you like (I used rosemary and thyme)

Directions (Written by Pioneer Woman, excluding her original commentary)

Begin by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make, and cook them until they’re fork-tender. Next, generously drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan.  When the potatoes are tender, place them on the cookie sheet giving them plenty of room to spread out.  Next, grab your potato masher and gently press down on the potato until it slightly mashes. Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and finish flattening it. Of course, you don’t want to absolutely smash it into the pan—you want it almost to resemble a cookie.  Repeat until all are flattened. And really, I don’t know why you couldn’t use the bottom of a glass for this step if you don’t have a potato masher. The surface might not be as textured and interesting, but I think it still might work.  Next, brush the tops rather generously with olive oil.  Next, grab some Kosher salt. You can use regular salt, but I’d really recommend using kosher. It adheres to the potatoes more easily and really flavors them nicely without getting too salty.  Remember: potatoes need salt. Don’t skimp!  Be ye ever as generous with fresh ground black pepper.  Now, you can grab some chives…or thyme…or whatever herbs you have available.  Whatever herb you use, just chop it pretty finely and sprinkle over the top.  Now throw them onto the top rack of a very hot (450-degree) oven, and cook them for 20-25 minutes.  Or until they’re golden and crispy and sizzling.

 

From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks