When I think back to how this whole cookie business started, I must say it's not like it happened only yesterday. I needed a little side job to support myself so I decided I wanted to make the ultimate chocolate cake. My dad bought me my first Kitchen Aid 6 qt. mixer, and I thought I was on my way to being the best chocolate cake maker of all time, but that was not to be.

I fell in love with chocolate instead. I'm not ashamed to say my favorite is Big Island Candies' Crunchies. They used to sell it at KTA and Longs, in those little plastic buckets. Then they pulled it from the shelves and sell it exclusively at their store, so I tried to make my own. As it happened, my friend made me drive her all the way to Kona Chips, their old location, to buy literal buckets of Kona Chips for her to bring back to Honolulu for her friends and workmates.

Needless to say, back in the day, we'd drive all the way to Kona just to do the Costco run.  On our run we tried to find Kona Chips, only to discover they moved over to Manago Hotel all the way in Captain Cook! I went crazy buying all the potato chip crumbs they had. Yes, I was going to get my stash so I didn't have to go all the way to Captain Cook to get it.  

The missus who ran the register asked me what I was going to do with all the chips. I panicked. I didn't want to tell her I wanted to make my own candy, so I told her I was going to experiment and make potato chip cookies. I didn't lie, I did want to make potato chip cookies! Then she asked me to bring samples when I came back. Great...now I have to go back to Kona!

Back in Hilo, I started trying my hand at chocolate making, and potato chip cookie making. Of course my family and friends get to try all the weird stuff I was making, none of which resembles the ultimate chocolate cake, mind you.  

Then my boss gave me a whole lot of powdered sugar, because she loves snowball cookies. My sister decided to give me all of her baking goodies, seeing that I have a new found interest in it.

The next thing I know, my friend's dad passed away, and she asked me to bake some cookies for the staff who had taken such good care of him. Not only did I over charge her, I made way to much cookie dough, and not wanting to waste the dough, I refrigerated it.

Of course, the next day when I needed to make more cookies, the dough was rock hard, so I thought I'd soften it by putting it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. It worked, but it was still a bit hard to scoop, so I put it in the mixer to soften it. The chocolate had melted and it looked like a big brown ball of...chocolate.

What goes good with chocolate? Potato chips! It was the best mistake I ever made! It sure was an ugly cookie, but "it's what's inside that counts!"

- Joyce Sweezey Ugly Cookier