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Bacon Cookies: A whimsical mix of bacon and chocolate chips, ideal for cozy weekends.
The first time I came across bacon cookies was during a long weekend getaway with my husband. We had decided to escape the city and rented a quaint cabin in the woods—just the two of us, surrounded by peaceful nature and the smell of pine. One evening, after a day filled with hiking and exploring, we found ourselves craving something a bit different. Rooting through the modest pantry, I discovered a pack of thick-cut bacon and a bag of chocolate chips. A light bulb moment, if ever there was one! I knew I needed to add a bit of cheddar to our usual cookie dough recipe to create a blend of sweet, savory, and simply irresistible.
As the smell of bacon wafted through the cabin, mingling with the brown sugar and molasses, it reminded us of lazy Saturday mornings back home. My secret to perfect bacon cookies? Baking the bacon in a cool oven, letting it come up to a crisp slowly. And don't forget to save that flavorful bacon fat! A spoonful mixed with butter does wonders for the dough, infusing each bite with a deep, savory note. While my husband stoked the fire, the cookies baked, transforming our little getaway base into a cozy haven.
When we finally sat down to enjoy them, cookies warm on a plate, it was magic. The chocolate chips melted into the dough, enhanced by the crispy bacon pieces. A little hint for the curious: let the dough chill before baking for a firmer bite. We laughed and devoured the entire batch, thankful for this newfound tradition. Never had a sweet tooth and salty cravings been so blissfully married.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 9 slices thick-cut bacon
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature and cubed, plus more, to taste, melted
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granualted sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, the cornstarch, the baking soda, and the salt and whisk to combine. Set the flour mixture aside.
- In a 9x13-inch baking dish, preferrably one with handles, add the bacon and lay it out in an even, single layer.
- Line a plate with paper towels.
- Set a fine-mesh sieve over a heatproof liquid measuring cup.
- Transfer the bacon to a cold oven.
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Bake until the bacon is crisp, about 40-45 minutes.
- In a large, heatproof bowl, add 3/4 cup of the cubed, room temperature butter.
- Transfer the bacon from the oven and turn the oven off.
- Immediately transfer the bacon to the prepared paper-towel-lined plate.
- Carefully tilt the baking dish and pour the hot bacon fat through the sieve into the liquid measuring cup.
- Pour 1/4 cup of the strained hot bacon fat over the butter in the bowl, reserving the remaining strained bacon fat for a separate use and discarding the solids in the sieve. If there isn't enough strained bacon fat to equal 1/4 cup, use the extra melted butter to make up the difference.
- Let the hot bacon fat and the butter sit until the butter is slightly melted, about 1 minute.
- Using an electric handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the bacon fat and the butter together until combined, creamy, and slightly aerated, about 1 minute. The butter mixture should be loose and resemble the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Add the brown sugar, the granulated sugar, and the molasses to the butter mixture and beat on medium speed until lightened in color, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg, the egg yolk, and the vanilla to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated, about 30 seconds-1 minute.
- Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until the dough is about 3/4 of the way mixed, about 1 minute. The dough should still be a little chunky and have a few streaks of the flour mixture remaining.
- Roughly chop the cooked bacon.
- Add the chopped bacon and the chocolate chips to the dough and use a rubber spatula to fold and combine until the bacon and the chocolate chips are evenly distirbuted through the dough and there are no streaks of the flour mixture remaining.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
- Position the oven racks to the upper third and lower third positions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Scoop the dough into scant 2 tablespoon-sized balls.
- Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies on the upper and lower oven racks for 6 minutes.
- Rotate the baking sheets and bake again until the cookies are lightly golden-brown and just set around the edges, about 5-7 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
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