Andi's Jelly and Potato Chip Sandwich

A friend in a family of 10 kids showed me how to roll a white Wonder Bread into a ball. They called them dough balls, and we ate them as snacks while running around the neighborhood. It’s not something my mother would have allowed because it wasn’t nutritious - it was just filling.

My friend also showed me how white bread spread with Miracle Whip was yummy.  We played all day in the summers, and I rarely went home for lunch. Instead, we might get a piece of white bread with peanut butter or Miracle Whip.

A sandwich I invented for myself was jelly and potato chips.I invented a sandwich for myself: jelly and potato chips. I don’t know how I figured out how to make this sandwich, but I created it with no help from my older brothers, my mother, or my friends.

Ingredients:

• 1 piece of white bread (you could use whole wheat or whole grain, but it might ruin the taste of this pristine sandwich.)

• Butter (back then it was most likely margarine) – softened enough to spread on the bread

• Grape jelly

• Potato chips – not crinkle cut – thin Lay’s-type potato chips.

Spread the white bread with softened butter, all the way to the crust. Don’t skimp on it.

Then spread a good layer of grape jelly over the butter. I used Smucker's back then. Now, you might want a fancier French grape jelly from Home Goods, but any grape jelly will do. It just must be GRAPE. Apple or strawberry will not work.

Next, take the potato chips - remember: not crinkle-cut, not Ruffles with ridges - and spread them over the jelly. Cover the entire slice of bread.

Butter another slice of bread. You can add jelly to this slice if you want. I don’t recall whether I put jelly on the top slice of bread, but I imagine that doubling the butter and doubling the jelly would double the pleasure, right?

Okay. Now the bread is ready, and the potato chips are lying on top of the jelly.

Here’s the fun part: place the second slice of bread on top of the bottom one. The sandwich is sort of thick now because of the potato chips.

Not for long, though.

Smoosh the sandwich! Use the heel of your palm and smoosh the bread together. Hear those chips crunch! Can you hear it? Good. Use your fingers and keep pressing the layers together until the sandwich is flattened.

Now, it’s ready to eat! A jelly and potato chip sandwich.

I haven’t had one in years, but I tell people about it all the time. It was delicious. I guess the jelly's sweetness mixed with the chips' saltiness is what does it. I know you've heard people say, “savory or sweet?”

The sandwich is both savory and sweet. Rich butter holds the jelly and the jelly holds the chips, all smashed into one great-tasting sandwich.

I think older people will enjoy it as much as the young kids.

It’s not messy either; sometimes a PB&J sandwich leaks jelly. It doesn’t happen in Andi’s Jelly and Potato Chip Sandwich. The grape jelly won't leak out of the sides of the bread because it is sucked up by the salty potato chips and held in place by the smooshing your fingers did before you took a bite.

Andi’s Jelly and Potato Chip Sandwich should be a recipe on the jar of jelly or featured on Rachel Ray or Martha Stewart (it might not be fancy enough for Martha - she would use toasted croissants and imported jelly). At the very least, it could be included in those recipe books that clubs create and sell for their organizations.

This sandwich wasn’t on a restaurant menu. Perhaps someday you'll find it at an obscure restaurant in a small town. The price would be $12; after all, bread is expensive, and it takes a lot of grapes to make jelly. Then, one must also take in the cost of butter and potatoes.

On second thought, I’m not sure $12 is the best price.

            Copyright © 10/20/2026 by Andrea O. Corwin