I tried Martha Stewart's cookie recipe with bacon and potato chips - and I'm never going back to plain chocolate chip

• Martha Stewart shared a cookie recipe that incorporated bacon, potato chips, and dark chocolate.

• Stewart said she was inspired by "kitchen sink" cookies, which often contain "unexpected" ingredients.

• I loved the cookies' balance of salty and sweet - and I had almost all the ingredients already in my pantry.

• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Martha Stewart shared a bacon potato-chip chocolate cookie that she said is a salty-sweet take on a "kitchen sink" dessert.

In June, Martha Stewart raised eyebrows when she shared a recipe for bacon potato-chip chocolate cookies on Instagram.

On her website, Stewart said the recipe was inspired by the "venerable tradition of kitchen sink and compost cookies" — in other words, "cookies with lots of (unexpected) add-ins."

As someone who grew up dipping salty french fries into vanilla milkshakes, I knew I had to give this sweet and savory recipe a try.

You may already have most of the cookie ingredients in your pantry.

Unlike some of Stewart's more complicated recipes, such as her mashed potato-infused cinnamon rolls, this recipe was great for beginners. Plus, everything you need is probably already in your pantry.

To make this recipe, you'll need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon of baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon of coarse salt

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

• ⅓ cup of packed light brown sugar

• ⅓ cup of granulated sugar

• ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

• 1 large egg

• 8 slices cooked bacon, 3 slices cut crosswise into 20 pieces, remaining 5 slices finely chopped (1/2 cup)

• ¾ cup of chopped dark chocolate (4 ounces)

• 2 cups of coarsely crushed salted potato chips

The recipe makes 20 cookies with a prep time of 25 minutes, and the whole process takes 70 minutes. The oven should be set to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

I started by cooking the bacon so it was nice and crispy.

Although Stewart doesn't mention it in her recipe, I suggest prepping the bacon first for a seamless baking experience. According to the recipe, you should cook eight slices of bacon and expect to split those slices into two groups afterward.

I chose to use Oscar Mayer Center Cut Original Bacon instead of more flavored varieties like hardwood-smoked bacon or maple bacon because I didn't want to add too many flavors to the cookie.

I cooked four bacon slices in a pan on medium heat. When trying this at home, I'd recommend not standing too close to the pan since the grease from the bacon pops.

Then, I started chopping the bacon, which Stewart said will go in the batter and on top of the cookies.

Following Stewart's recipe, I cut three pieces of bacon crosswise into about 20 pieces, which will be used as a decorative piece atop the cookie dough.

The remaining five or so slices can be finely chopped into tiny pieces that will be mixed into the dough with the potato chips and dark-chocolate chunks.

I used a sandwich bag to crush up Lay's Classic Potato Chips.

There's an overwhelming amount of chips to decide from when checking out the snack aisle, but I kept it simple and chose Lay's Classic Potato Chips. While Stewart's recipe doesn't specify a brand or type of chip to use, I opted to go with a plain chip as opposed to a flavored variety.

I put my chips in a clear sandwich bag and mashed them up until they were "coarsely crushed," according to Stewart's directions.

Next, it was time to mix the dry ingredients to create the dough's base.

To make the recipe's dough, start by combining a cup of all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon of coarse salt into a large bowl.

I combined the wet ingredients like sugar and butter.

Add one stick of butter, ⅓ cup of packed light brown sugar, and ⅓ cup of granulated sugar into a stand mixer.

The wet ingredients should be mixed on medium-high until it turns into a "fluffy" consistency, according to Stewart's recipe. This should take about two minutes.

Crack one large egg and drop ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract into the wet ingredients to combine. For those who own a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, I'd recommend mixing those ingredients at medium-high speed.

Then, pour the flour mixture into the stand mixer and mix all those ingredients until combined.

Then came the fun part: adding in the bacon and chips.

At last, it was time to add this recipe's most intriguing ingredients into the fold.

Stewart said to stir in the finely chopped bacon, dark-chocolate chunks, and potato chips into the dough. I placed my stand mixer on medium-high speed, watching how the bacon and potato chips seamlessly blended with the other ingredients.

At one point, I took a small bite of cookie dough and was amazed at how different it was. I could already find bits of bacon and crushed potato chips intermingled with the sweet flavors.

I rolled the cookie dough into medium- to large-sized balls on two baking sheets and popped them in the oven for less than 20 minutes.

Once mixed, Stewart suggested the dough be rolled into 20 balls that are about two tablespoons each and placed on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten each dough ball with the palm of your hand, then place a piece of the chopped bacon on top.

I recommend adding a bit of flour to your hands to make the rolling process easier and space each dough ball evenly.

Bake the cookies between 13 and 15 minutes, then let them cool on a baking sheet on a wire rack.

As the cookies were baking, they filled my tiny New York City apartment with the aroma of a five-star bakery. Now, I don't think I'll ever go back to plain chocolate chip.

My first bite was filled with dark chocolate that reminded me of a more traditional cookie, but then a tiny crunch let way to a burst of potato chip salt — a balance that balanced each other well. The bacon pieces inside offered a bit of savory relief from the rush of sugar.

The bacon piece on top was an unexpected plus and will be a guilty pleasure to any meat lover.

While I love a traditional chocolate-chip cookie, I'll be recommending this recipe to anyone who's open to a new spin on an old classic.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).

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