I co-hosted a baby shower on Saturday for a friend who is having a girl, and decided that, since we were having Mexican fare, we should have some appropriately PINK, heart-shaped tortilla chips to go with it all. perfecto.
I have been making fun tortilla chips for different occasions for years- Fall Leaves in November. . . black cats, white ghosts and orange pumpkins for Halloween parties. . . it's a fun, creative way to add a custom detail to a party for not a lot of money. What's more- they don't taste any different from any other fresh tortilla chips. (I'm lying- I think they taste BETTER!)
They're easy to make- in fact, my daughter and her friends helped me with most of this batch- I just did the frying. Let me show you just how simple these cuties are.
1. Cut out your desired shape from a bag of raw corn tortillas, using a cookie cutter.
I used 2 different sized heart cutters to make the most of my tiny tortillas.
2. Place your corn tortilla cut-outs on a cookie sheet and, using a pastry brush, brush them with a coating of very dilute food coloring. I used about 1 drop of gel coloring in 1-2 cups of WARM water. The warm water helps the gel color to distribute evenly. The more concentrated your colored water is, the darker your chips will turn out. We wanted light pink chips, so I used a very dilute color.
Be sure to flip them over and brush the opposite side as well.
3. In the mean time, have a 4-6 inches of vegetable oil heating in a large stock pot with a candy thermometer ready. Your oil needs to be about 375 degrees F for perfect, crispy chips.
CAREFULLY drop them into the heated oil as fast as you can. If you don't get them all in about the same time, they won't cook evenly. If they are a little crowded, they should be fine- they shouldn't stick together.
Fry them for about 3-5 minutes, or until they are slightly golden and crispy.
4. Remove them from the pot quickly with a slotted spoon and salt them immediately. The chips dry quickly, so if you don't season them right away, your flavor will not stick!
5. Drain them on a plate or bowl fitted with a couple of dry paper towels for a minute or two and then remove them and place them in a bowl for serving. Change out the paper towels with new ones after every 2-3 batches so the towels can absorb the oil.
They should last for a couple of days in a zip lock bag if they were cooked all the way.
Serve them with some yummy salsa or guac- and enjoy!
Plus- I must say, heart-shaped chips are just about the best shape for dipping and eating that I've ever had! I think I can feel a new Valentine's Day tradition coming on!
