I opted to use Candied Bacon, but you can use plain old bacon if you want. I just liked the extra sweetness. As a bonus, if you candy a whole package of bacon, you will have plenty left over for snacking. Can you tell I like bacon?
Instructions for Candied Bacon are as follows. I would make these a day or two before unless you have the whole day to commit to baking. If you pop them in the freezer, whole, they are pretty easy to chop up too.
Candied Bacon (from Closet Cooking)
Ingredients:
1 pound thick bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
Directions:
1. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a cooling rack in it. (Non stick would be best but the candied dripping can be easily cleaned with a soak in hot water.)
2. Spread the bacon out over the cooling rack.
3. Rub the brown sugar onto the bacon.
4. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until the bacon reaches the desired crispiness, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy.
Now on to the cookies. This is your basic, easy peasy Chocolate Chip recipe, but with bacon. The bacon adds a bit more saltiness and makes them have a smoky quality. In other words, perfect!
Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies (Modified from Closet Cooking)
Makes 36 Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 strips bacon, cooked & chopped (Candied or plain, it might be fun to try some of the smoked varieties)
Directions:
1. Cream the butter and sugars in a bowl.
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
3. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
5. Mix in the chocolate and the bacon.
6. Place 1 TBSP of dough onto a cookie sheet. I used the Pampered Chef Small Scoop™. But you can use a tablespoon or other melon scoop.
7. Bake in a 350°F preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
8. Cool for 2-3 minutes on a cookie sheet. Move to cooling rack and cool completely before storing.
Since the bacon is pretty baked in, I opted to store them in the cookie jar. We'll eat them up before they ever go bad. If you making these in advance, you may want to store in a refrigerator. Another option to consider, is buying the cured bacon that doesn't need refrigeration. That being said, I prefer making mine fresh, but if time is an issue, this might be for you.
I do hope you will try these gems. I look forward to experimenting with them. I am envisioning oatmeal, butterscotch and other add ins. If you have an interesting bacon cookie recipe, please feel free to share it, or the link to it, in the comments below.
~Jessica~
