Kind of Cool Ranch Doritos
This is the first in a series of posts I’m working on called “The Junk Food Junkies.” My goal in these posts is to try to replicate some favorite junk foods in my kitchen. In general, I like to eat fairly healthily, but sometimes you need some snack food. I would rather make that snack food than buy it.
These are suprisingly ranchy.
Enter Doritos. Not only one of my favorite snack foods, but the favorite snack food of my Macheesmo taste-tester (aka girlfriend). One day I was working through a bag of Cool Ranch when I looked over at the ingredient list and said, “Hey. I think I can make these!”
What I was worried about obviously, was the spice. The chips I knew I could meet if not beat. But the spice… that was going to be tricky. I had an obvious place to start though:
This stuff is strong!
I poured this stuff into a bowl and thought it might just work as is. Boy was I wrong. The plain spice pack is incredibly strong. It is bitter and makes your eyes almost water. So I had to find a way to “dilute” the spice pack so it wasn’t so strong. This was the recipe I ended up with:
Kind of Cool Ranch
- One Ranch Dressing spice pack
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons season salt
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Teas. Garlic PowderHelpful Equipment:
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Candy/Deep Fry Thermometer
Mix that up and it should be much less bitter and more salty which is what you want.
Spice Dilution
Next, let’s make some tortilla chips. Homemade tortilla chips are one of my favorite treats because A) they are cheap B) they are easy C) they are better than anything you can buy in the store.
I like to use white corn tortillas cut into sixths.
Cheapest Chips on the block.
Now you can bake these at 400 degrees with just a brushing of oil on them and that is fine. Personally, if I’m eating snack food, I want these guys fried. I’m throwing down with Doritos here. Frying is the way to go.
I filled my trusty cast iron skillet with about 1 1/2 inches of corn oil and let it heat up to 350 degrees. You know when it is the right temperature because your tortilla will float and bubble immediately. If you want exact results though, I recommend using a deep fry thermometer for the oil.
Looking good guys.
The chips are pretty easy to make, but it might take a few times to get it right. The biggest problem I have is if you don’t have the oil hot enough or you don’t let them cook long enough on both sides, you end up with a tortilla chip you can bend. NOT APPETIZING.
The one trick I’ve learned is that the chips will be crispy when they stop bubbling. The reason being that all the water is out of the tortilla which makes it stop bubbling and also super-crispy. Silent tortillas are crispy tortillas.
When they are done, take them out and put them on a paper towel to drain off some of the oil and sprinkle that awesome seasoning on them immediately.
Season now!
I would recommend starting light on the spice as it is pretty intense. Just give a little sprinkle and then try them while they are hot. How many of you can say you have had Doritos while they are hot? Well, these are awesome hot!
Doritos ain't got nothing on me.
I definitely did not use all of that spice that I mixed up earlier. I probably used about half of it on a batch of maybe 60 chips. I started to eat them from the plate and something just wasn’t right. So I put them in a big Ziploc bag and they immediately tasted better. Not sure what the deal is with that but homemade Doritos in a bag taste better than on a plate.
So if you get bored one weekend, I recommend these! They were actually quite tasty. The Macheesmo taste-tester and I had no problem polishing off the entire bag.
If you have suggestions for junk food I should try to make either comment or shoot me an email.
Also, if you liked this post, I would love it if you passed it along using the below links. I’m certain the vast Internet is dying to know how to make Doritos.
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These are great!
I shall lay down a gauntlet – you should try making a Big Mac, the godfather of junk foods.
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Whoa! Big Mac would be tough. I'm up for the challenge though. I'll add it to my list.
Thanks Alex!
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I am so impressed! I hadn't KNOWN you were cool. Blue Doritos are my #1 favorite junk food, so I'm going to be all over these :)
-Ur gf's former roommie
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These look and sound amazing–I will definitely be trying them. I recently discovered how easy it is to make chips out of corn tortillas and how delicious they are–better than store bought. And how fun is it to play with the seasonings?
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Scrumptious blogging, Nick.
My all-time favorite reverse-engineered junk food item has to be the Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Supreme. (After college, I lived for three years in South Dakota, 100 miles from the nearest Taco Bell, so these became most essential.) For those who aren't familiar, it's basically just a tostada wrapped up in a tortilla and sealed on a sandwich press; I used my George Foreman Grill.
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I JUST blogged about you! I hope that’s alright. I searched for how to make Cooler Ranch Doritos at home and yours was the ONLY recipe I found! I’m so excited to try it.
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Thank you for posting your experiment. I have been looking for an MSG-free alternative to Cool Ranch chips, but unfortunately, Hidden Valley is still FULL of MSG. So, I am forwarding the recipe I use for Ranch dressing – au naturale. I am going to try my ranch with your additions above and it should be PERFECT. (to make this for ranch dressing: 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 TBSP of ranch mix – WONDERFUL MSG-free!) In food processor: 15 saltine crackers, 2 cups dry parsley flakes, 1/2 minced dried onion, 2 TBSP dry dill weed, 1/4 cup onion salt, 1/4 cup garlic salt, 1/4 cup onion powder, 1/4 cup garlic powder. Pulse til fine and store in airtight container in cool dry place. **you can also cut the dry ingredients in half if this is too much for you to use within 6 months** Hope this helps others with MSG issues.
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i lov the fact hat u would make so many things 2 look up u r the fab!!!!!!!!!!
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You Can Tax MY Tortilla When You Pry It From My Chile Covered Fingers.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Mexicans-Agains…
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would it work with flour tortilllas
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yes it worked fine
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Man I love cool ranch doritos and I cant get them where I live so I will definitely be trying this recipe out. I just hope I can find some ranch spice pack somewhere
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make some cheeze its man that would be amazing and awesome
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Nick replied: — August 4th, 2010 @ 11:05 am
Been there! http://www.macheesmo.com/2008/12/junk-food-junkie…
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carlin replied: — December 14th, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
what
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Can you use a fry daddy for these?
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Keri replied: — September 3rd, 2010 @ 9:38 pm
Update!
I used my fry daddy and it worked pretty good. Just couldn’t make more than four at a time which is fine.
However…. I grabbed the wrong tortillas. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use the flour ones. The seasoning is AMAZING and I think I would have polished off what I made if it wasn’t for my goof on grabbing flour tortillas. They are not very good and are holding the oil like a mother holds her baby. I can’t wait to go to the store on Sunday, buy the right tortillas and make this again. I’m dying to eat more of that seasoning.
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Nick replied: — September 4th, 2010 @ 7:49 am
Thanks for trying it out. Yea… a Fry Daddy should work fine… they are just kind of small. When it comes ot frying chips its better to have a really large wide pan with a shallow amount of oil instead of the fry daddy which is deep but narrow.
And yea… corn tortillas are the way to go in my opinion although others have reported success with flour. :)
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thanks for posting!! I have been a big fan of frying my own chips for quite a while..
I have a couple of ideas for you!! try chopping cilantro, and sprinkle through your layers of drying chips.. Yum!
and another flavor is… mix up a bowl of cayenne pepper (powdered) onion powder, garlic powder, and I use sea salt.. and fennegreek.. it is amazing!!! the powdered kind of course. And soooooo different.. you just keep eating them, and saying hm… that tastes so oddly good. ha!! Lizzy
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Im going to the store to get these ingredients now!.. I love how this guys wording…and his personality put into it!…funny!
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Eudiechops likes it
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What about nacho cheese doritos??
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:P You know, we South Asians call these Papadams. :P We eat it with rice. lol Just kidding.
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Have you ever heard of "Poor Man's Doritos"? I saw them today at a sale and didn't buy them…could kick myself. They are saltines that apparently taste just like regular doritos. A recipe would be appreciated!!
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I’m the odd man out – you said baking was okay at 400…but for how long?
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Maruchan Ramen Noodles
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This may be off topic a little, but do you have a recipe for pure Almond Extract? I make homemade pound cake and it calls for Almond Extract but it is REALLY expensive!
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Nick replied: — February 2nd, 2012 @ 11:07 am
Hmm… I think it would cost you more to make. Almonds are expensive and you would need to distill them in very strong alcohol… plus I’m not sure that you would actually be able to really extract the flavor like that.
Probably have to just buy it… if it makes it better, I’ve had my same little bottle for like 3 years…
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Need to figure out how to create the salsa verde flavored Doritos. it’s my mans favorite but my town don’t sell them but once in a blue moon, so I was going to try and make my own version for him, but can’t find a recipe.
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I sell Pampered Chef and our method is in the microwave with flour tortillas found in the refrigeration area of stores. Season them with the sparsely spread dry ranch dressing and you have much less fat because of the microwave dehydrating the corn chips. http://www.pamperedchef.biz/sharinevitt The chipmakers are $22 and have a one year warrant for the pair.
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Great idea! I gotta try this. Oh do yourself a favor after you’ve made the chips or if ur feeling lazy n you buy some spred on a baking sheet n sprinkle shredded cheese on them bake for 5-15min until cheese is melty but chips r not burnt at 350 degrees makes them amazing!
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LAY’S® DIP CREATIONS® Country Ranch Seasoning Mix is msg free according to their website, I think I just may have to try it out.. with your additions.
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You used the ranch Dip packet, is it ok to use the dressing packet? Is there a difference between the two?
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Nick replied: — March 1st, 2013 @ 7:47 am
Hmmm… I would stick with the dip packet. I think the dressing packet has lots of extra stuff in it or just different stuff.
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