Set the oven to 350°F before starting the dough. A fully heated oven helps the cookies bake consistently from the moment the tray goes in.

Beat the softened butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture becomes noticeably lighter in color and fluffy. This stage incorporates the air that gives the eggless cookies a delicate crumb rather than a dense, greasy texture.

Blend the vanilla extract into the whipped butter mixture. Look for an even mixture without streaks of vanilla around the bowl.

Work the flour into the butter mixture until the loose crumbs gather into a cohesive dough. The mixture may look sandy at first, but continued mixing should produce a stiff, pliable mass rather than a bowl of dry crumbs.

Distribute the crushed potato chips throughout the dough with gentle stirring. Stop when chip pieces appear throughout the mixture so you don't grind away their crunchy texture.

Portion the dough onto a cookie sheet in 1-tablespoon mounds, using a small scoop if helpful, then gently press each mound with your palm or a glass bottom. A slightly flattened shape helps these low-spreading cookies bake evenly instead of keeping a tall, rounded center.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, removing them when their bottom edges turn golden. The tops should remain pale, with the clearest browning underneath and along the lowest edges.

Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. The brief rest lets the delicate cookies firm up enough to move without crumbling.

Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar if desired, or dip cooled cookies into melted chocolate and scatter additional crushed chips over the coating. For the chocolate finish, add the chip crumbs while the coating is still wet so they adhere.