Bagel Chips Three Ways: Everything, Parmesan, & Cinnamon-Sugar

Everything homemade is better, of course, so why would bagel chips be any different?

About 3 inches in diameter, these chips are truly just that: about the size of a tortilla chip, ideal for dips and spreads.

Making your own bagel chips is so easy and so worth it. You can flavor them just the way you want, you can use butter (pictured) or oil, and you can make them a much more agreeable size than typical bagel chips by using mini bagels. These bagel chips are delicious on their own, but there isn’t a whitefish or herring salad on the planet that wouldn’t pair perfectly with the "everything" variety. Try my Quick Caesar Salad with parmesan bagel chip bits as croutons. As for the cinnamon-sugar bagel chips, "bagels for dessert" is officially now a thing.

Equipment: cutting board; bread knife; parchment paper; rimmed sheet pan; small bowl or small saucepan; pastry brush; paper towels; tongs

Ingredients:

9 mini bagels, thinly sliced

1½ sticks melted butter or ¾ cup oil "everything bagel" seasoning

grated parmesan

cinnamon-sugar

The goal is to slice the bagels so thin that they crisp fully.

ILOC tip: if you don't use butter, select oil with taste in mind. Olive oils offer the verdant and earthy tastes of...olive, just as coconut oil tastes like coconut. Toasted nut oils and pressed fruit oils with more forward flavors should be reserved to finish cooked foods (not always but usually). Canola, vegetable, grapeseed, and peanut oils all have little to no flavor other than that of the fat itself. I wouldn’t use coconut oil to make bagel chips, but avocado oil could work.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Melt the butter in a small heatproof bowl in the microwave, or in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

3. Make the bagel chips in batches of 12 (four rows of three) on a parchment-lined rimmed sheet pan.

4. To make the "everything" bagel chips: bush both sides of the bagel slices with butter or oil and place on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously on top with "everything bagel" seasoning. Bake for 10 minutes and then check the bagel chips. Remove, if any, bagel chips that have browned and crisped and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Continue to bake the remaining bagel chips until crisped, checking every two minutes until browned and crisped.

5. To make the parmesan bagel chips: bush both sides of the bagel slices with butter or oil and place on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously on both sides with grated parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes and then check the bagel chips. Remove, if any, bagel chips that have browned and crisped and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Continue to bake the remaining bagel chips until crisped, checking every two minutes until browned and crisped.

6. To make the cinnamon-sugar bagel chips: bush both sides of the bagel slices with butter or oil and place on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously on top with cinnamon-sugar. Bake for 10 minutes and then check the bagel chips. Remove, if any, bagel chips that have browned and crisped and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Continue to bake the remaining bagel chips until crisped, checking every two minutes until browned and crisped.

"The "everything bagel" seasoning and cinnamon-sugar varieties need to be sprinkled with their toppings only on one side and do not need to be turned. The parmesan bagel chips need parmesan on both sides, plus turning."

7. Remove each batch of baked bagel chips to paper towels to drain before serving or cooling completely before storing in an airtight container for up to one week.

Makes approximately 36 bagel chips.