Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
I sent my son off to school today with all his Valentine’s Day cards. I spend way too much time on there and find the cutest things. For homemade Valentine’s, I’ve been seeing cards like this one all over Pinterest. It’s a picture of your kid holding out their hand holding an actual lollipop. It’s too cute, so we had to make our own. Here’s the one he took to school today.
For a homemade Valentine’s treat, I thought I would make my family’s favorite, chocolate chip cookies, but with a twist. Since bacon makes everything better, I decided to add some bacon to this batch of cookies. We had some bacon chocolate chip cookies at a friends house over the holidays, and I have to say they were some of the best cookies ever. Bacon adds a salty flavorful punch that makes chocolate chip cookies way better.
This recipe is based on the NY Times chocolate chip cookie, so this recipes makes a pretty big cookie. To start, I chopped up a 1/2 lb bacon and cooked it crisp. Then I creamed my butter, bacon fat and sugars together. Then I added eggs, the bourbon vanilla and the dry ingredients. Lastly I added the chocolate chips and crispy bacon pieces.
For this recipe I made my own bourbon vanilla, but you can also buy bourbon vanilla, or just use the ordinary vanilla. Paula has a great tutorial here for DIY Bourbon Vanilla Extract.
Speaking of bacon, America loves it! Check out this cool infographic from Smithfield. I think it’s too cute, and who knew that so many people preferred bacon to roses for Valentine’s Day? I bet all those bacon lovers would go crazy for some bacon roses!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies
Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
5.00 stars (1 reviews)
Loading...Ingredients:
1/2 lb bacon, diced and cooked crisp
1/4 cup bacon fat
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract (You can buy or make your own, see this DIY tutorial)
17 oz flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 10 oz bag chocolate chips
Directions:
Cook bacon in large skillet over medium low heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels and reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon drippings.
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, bacon fat and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the bourbon vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Add chocolate chips and diced bacon. Incorporate well. Press dough in plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. (We deep froze our dough to quick chill for about 2 hours. The dough really has to be very cold to work.)
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.
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Be sure to share on Instagram with the hashtag #EclecticRecipes and tag me, @EclecticRecipes!This post sponsored by Smithfield. All opinions 100% mine.
