#BaconMonth Round Up for #InternationalBaconDay

Bacon Parmesan Twists

In my humble opinion, every day should be International Bacon Day, and I often treat each as if it were. But, all people rejoice, because today is the actual day. Happy International Bacon Day, everyone! 

In honor of this great holiday - Seriously who's working? Leave me a comment, I'll see what I can do about sending you some bacon in recompense. - I've stopped by every post from every blog in our linky tool for Bacon Month and created a link list, categorized for ease of clicking! We've got everything from Appetizers and Drinks to Cookies and Dessert and lots of great bacon recipes in between.

What are you making with bacon today in celebration? Might I suggest a few recipes from the following 116 links?

Enjoy!

Candied Habanero Bacon 

Appetizers and Snacks

• Bacon and Beer Hushpuppies 
• Bacon Cheddar Croissant Turnovers 
• Bacon Cheeseburger Tachos 
• Bacon Chocolate Covered Popcorn 
• Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes 
• Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Wontons 
• Bacon Gouda Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Bacon Guaca-Hummus 
• Bacon Parmesan Twists 
• Bacon-wrapped Green Hatch Chiles 
• Baked Bacon Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers
• BLT Dip 
• Blue Cheese Almond Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates 
• Candied Habanero Bacon 
• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Popcorn 
• Creamy Corn Bacon Dip 
• Grilled Stuffed Jalapeños with Brown Sugar Bacon 
• Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos 
• Layered Sweet Sour Asian Dip Fried Wonton Dippers 
• Roasted BLT Dip 
• Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages 
• Warm Bacon Jalapeño Corn Dip 

Drinks

• Bacon Infused Vodka 
• Bacon Habanero Mojitos 
• Funky Junction Milkshakes 
• Spicy Bacon Bloody Mary

Condiments

• Bacon Barbecue Sauce 
• Bacon Jam 
• Balsamic Bacon Onion Relish 
• Bourbon Bacon Jam 

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages 

Salads

• Bacon Cantaloupe and Arugula Salad 
• Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
• Bacon Salad Pasta 
• Bacon Salad with Warm Dressing 
• Caribbean Cobb Salad with Spicy Pineapple Dressing 
• Macaroni Salad with Bacon 
• No Mayo Roasted Potato Salad 

Cheesy Bacon Baked Onions

Side Dishes

• Bacon Horseradish Mashed Potatoes 
• Bacon Mozzarella and Tomato Zucchini Boats 
• Charred Skillet Corn with Bacon 
• Cheesy Bacon Baked Onions 
• Fried Potatoes with Bacon and Sugar Snaps Peas 
• Loaded Bacon and Cheese Fries 
• Parmesan Dill Bacon Hasselback Potatoes  
• Pepperjack Bacon Mac and Cheese 
• Slow Cooker Baked Beans 
• Spicy Roasted Bacon Tomato Cauliflower

Spicy Roasted Bacon Tomato Cauliflower

Soups and Chilies

• Bacon Chili 
• Bacon Gazpacho 
• Chicken Bacon White Chili 

BLT Muffins 

Bread 

• Bacon Banana Bread 
• Bacon Breakfast Muffins 
• Bacon Cornbread 
• Bacon Foccacia 
• Bacon Jalapeño Cheesy Bread 
• BLT Muffins 
• Maple Bacon Doughnut Holes 
• Pumpkin Bacon Streusel Muffins 
• Rosemary Potato Bacon Biscuits 
• Spicy Bacon Beer Muffins 

Breakfast

• Avocado Ranch Breakfast Quesadillas 
• Bacon Breakfast Potatoes 
• Bacon Hash Browns 
• Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles 
• Chocolate Chip Bacon Pancakes 
• Huevos Rancheros with Bacon Tortillas 
• Loaded Waffles 
• Make Ahead Vegetable Bacon Egg Bake Skillet 

Bacon Butty 

Sandwiches

• Bacon Butty 
• BBQ Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad Sandwiches 
• Bacon Lettuce Avocado Tomato Chicken Wraps
• BLT Esquites Sandwich 
• Candied BLT Sliders 
• Caprese Tuna BLT 
• Grilled Bacon Fontina Sandwich 
• Not Your Mama’s BLT 

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken

Main Courses

• 30-Minute Chicken Carbonara Potpie 
• Bacon and Corn Risotto 
• Bacon and Leek Gnocchi 
• Bacon Brocolli Garlic Fried Rice 
• Bacon Buffalo Mozzarella Pizza 
• Bacon Mushroom Beer Alfredo
• Bacon Ranch and Pimento Cheese Stuffed Veggies 
• Bacon Shrimp Pasta Toss 
• Bacon Spinach Rigatoni 
• Bacon Spinach Tomato Pizza 
• Bacon-wrapped Italian Smoked Sausage 
• Bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken 
• Baked Potatoes and Chicken Skillet 
• Bean, Bacon and Tomato Bake 
• Black Bean and Bacon Flautas 
• BLT Pizza 
• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Squash Casserole
• Chicken Scaloppini with Bacon 
• Deep Dish Bacon Potato Pizza 
• Easy BLT Pasta 
• Halushki with Bacon and Ricotta Cheese 
• Pasta with Mushrooms, Bacon and Sweet Corn 
• Potato Crust Quiche 
• Spaghetti Carbonara with Browned Butter 
• Spicy Shrimp and Bacon Casserole 
• Three Cheese Caramelized Onion Bacon Frittata 
• Zucchini Bacon Rice Casserole 

Cookies and Bars

• Bacon & Chocolate Chip Cookies 
• Bacon Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cookies 
• Candied Bacon S’mores Pizza 
• Elvis' Puddin Cookies
• Flourless Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies 
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bacon Cookies 

Bacon Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cookies

Desserts and Sweet Treats

• Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Maple Frosting 
• Bacon and Fig Bread Pudding 
• Bacon Apple Coffee Cake 
• Bacon Bourbon Peach Ice Cream 
• Bacon Salted Chocolate Truffles 
• Candied Maple Bacon 
• Chocolate Covered Bacon S’Mores 
• Elvis Banana Split with Homemade Peanut Butter Ice Cream 
• Mini Bacon Apple Pies 
• Southern Pecan Pie with Bacon 
• Wired Piggy S’mores Cupcakes 

How to: 

• Bake perfectly crisp bacon 
• Cure your own bacon 
• Make bacon bits at home
• Oven-fry Bacon Oven-fried Bacon 

Once again, many, many thanks to Julie from White Lights on Wednesday for organizing Bacon Month and sponsoring all the cookbook giveaways! 

Spicy Bacon-wrapped Shrimp

These spicy bacon-wrapped shrimp will disappear so quickly that you might want to make a double batch. Serve them with some spicy bacon mayo for extra oomph.

I’m not going to give you a big song and dance story today about me and my avid relationship with bacon because no one should have to wait for bacon! My love of bacon has been fairly well documented, to the point that friends and family often send me links to bacon recipes or bacon roses, for which I am grateful. When I read that bacon was chosen as this week’s Sunday Supper theme, I sat down and wrote a list of possible recipes I’d like to share. SO MANY CHOICES. Then I headed to the grocery store.

My list went out the window when I came across the shrimp. Large and luscious, they cried out to be wrapped in bacon! Because my brain works in mysterious ways, I was already picturing them all lined up and skewered so they'd remain upright and their tails would curl up in the oven, creating the perfect little handles with which to eat them.

And so it was.

Ingredients
For the bacon-wrapped shrimp:
22 large shrimp – about 1.15kg or 2 1/2 lbs - before cleaning and peeling
1 lb or 450g bacon (normal, not thick cut)
3-4 hot chili peppers, cut into thin strips
Small handful chives, cut into pieces about the length of your shrimp

Extra equipment: wooden skewers

For the spicy bacon mayo dipping sauce:
1/2 cup or 125g mayonnaise
1 tablespoon bacon/shrimp drippings from baking pan
1 small clove garlic, grated finely
1 teaspoon or more hot sauce
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Method
Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C.

Peel and clean all the shrimp but leave the tails on.

Use a sharp knife to split the thick part of the shrimp so that they are open enough to put in one or two strips of pepper (depending on your heat threshold) and a couple of pieces of chive.

Cut the bacon slices in half.

Wrap one half bacon slice around each shrimp and secure it with a wooden skewer, cut side up.

Continue wrapping and skewering all the shrimp, cut side up, making sure to leave space between the shrimp.

Place the shrimp in one or more ovenproof pans. The tails should have enough space to curl up as the shrimp cook, creating the little handles I imagined.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is golden and crunchy looking.

When the spicy bacon-wrapped shrimp are done, whisk together all the dipping sauce ingredients.

Serve with warm shrimp.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to our event manager, Shelby of Grumpy’s Honeybunch and Erica of The Crumby Cupcake for all of their hard work behind the scenes. Check out all the wonderful bacon recipes my Sunday Supper group are sharing today!

Bacon in Appetizers

• Apple and Bacon Jam Quesadillas by Nik Snacks
• Bacon Barbecue Nachos by Where Latin Meets Lagniappe
• Game Day Bacon & Cheddar ‘Tater Skins by Powered By BLING
• Killer Jalapeño Poppers by Simply Healthy Family
• Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp by Food Lust People Love

Bacon in Beverages

• Candied Bacon Old Fashioned by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Homemade Bloody Mary with Candied Bacon Swizzle by Our Good Life
• Pancetta with Balsamic-Brown Sugar-Pepper Glaze for Bloody Mary by La Bella Vita Cucina

Bacon for Breakfast

• Avocado Toast with Coconut Bacon by Helpful Homemade
• Bacon Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Breakfast Bruschetta by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Candied Maple Bacon by A Mind Full Mom
• Maple Bacon Protein Pancakes by Amee’s Savory Dish

Bacon for Lunch

• Bacon, Fig and Goat’s Cheese Quiche by Caroline’s Cooking
• BLT Bread Salad by The Chef Next Door
• Grilled Manwich Club by Momma’s Meals
• Restaurant Style Double Bacon BLT by The Freshman Cook
• Turkey & Bacon Sliders with ‘Isn’t That Special’ Sauce by Bottom Left of the Mitten

Bacon for Dinner

• Bacon and Pumpkin Pasta by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
• Bacon Corn Chowder by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Bacon Fried Rice by Asian In America
• Bacon Wrapped Turkey Meatloaf by April Golightly
• Creamy Blue Cheese Pasta with Steak and Bacon by Magnolia Days
• K.C.’s Award Winning Turkey Bacon Explosion by Cooking With Carlee
• Kimchi Bacon Fried Rice by kimchi MOM
• Spaghetti alla Carbonara by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• The Pigskin Loaded Baked Potato by Sunday Supper Movement
• Triple Bypass Burgers by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Bacon as a Side Dish

• Bacon and Cheddar Smashed Red Potatoes by Family Around The Table
• Bourbon Bacon Jam by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Bacon, Beer & Jalapeño Muffins by Wholistic Woman
• Easy Bacon, Beans & Greens by My Life Cookbook
• Greens with Gruyere and Bacon by Cooking Chat
• Peas with Bacon and Crispy Onions by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Bacon for Dessert

• Bacon Brownie Balls by Monica’s Table
• Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies by Desserts Required
• Boozy Bacon Cherry Crumble by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Chocolate Bacon Crack by Brunch-n-Bites
• Flourless Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies by Pies and Plots
• Maple Bacon Truffles by Dessert Geek
• Spiced Apple Bacon Upside Down Cake by The Crumby Cupcak

Pin Spicy Bacon-wrapped Shrimp!

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How to Make a Classic Bacon Butty

This classic British sandwich is mobile breakfast fare at its finest, often served out of a food van at car boot sales, weekend markets and school sporting events. The bacon butty is simple deliciousness: Crispy back bacon, piled high on a bread roll and topped with lashings of brown sauce.The best ones come with heaps of bacon.

In the spirit of bacon making everything better, even hotter-than the hinges-of-the-gates-of-hell August in Dubai, I’ve joined a great group of bloggers for a month of bacon recipes! Organized by Julie of White Lights on Wednesday,  this second annual Bacon Month will include bacon-centric recipes, both sweet and savory.

But, meanwhile, I couldn’t make a Bacon Month announcement without sharing some bacon goodness. I had my first bacon butty in Aberdeen many years ago, while visiting some dear friends from our Brazil years. It was an early Sunday morning and as we arrived at the Thainstone Market, the excitement of the treasure hunt was in the air, along with the fabulous aroma of frying bacon. I have never had a bacon butty to match that one, although I’ve been trying to ever since. A floury bun filled with bacon is the best!

Ingredients
Olive oil
5-6 slices back bacon
1 floury round roll, halved
Butter (optional)
1-2 tablespoons HP or other brown sauce

Method
Drizzle a little olive oil in your pan. Add bacon and cook, until browned and crispy.

Meanwhile, butter your bread roll, if desired.

Place bacon on the bottom half of your roll and top with HP Sauce. Yes, it's a lot of bacon for one sandwich. No, it's not too much. There can never be enough bacon.

Cover with roll top.

That’s it! Simple, bacon-full and delicious. Enjoy!

Bacon Month is going to be epic!

 

Check out my other delicious recipes for bacon month:

• Bacon Parmesan Twists
• Bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken
• BLT (Bacon Lettuce Tomato) Muffins
• Cheesy Bacon Baked Onions
• Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages

Bacon-wrapped Loaded Baked Potatoes

Bacon-wrapped Loaded Baked Potatoes give bacon almost equal billing with the wonderful fluffy potato inside. Bacon-wrapped and bacon-filled, they're a bacon lovers perfect baked potato. (Seriously good.)

I have probably mentioned this before, but in my family we have a game we play called Last Meal. And it goes like this: We go around the room (or car, as this game is often initiated on a long road trip, where stops are infrequent and the passengers are getting fractious, hungry and tired of snack foods) and each person regales us with what their final meal would be. You know, if they were somehow scheduled for execution. (Wrongly convicted, natch.) The only rule is that you have to name specific, finite dishes. You can’t just say "a buffet," for instance. 

When it gets to my mother’s turn, she goes all Forrest Gump's Bubba on us and names just about every kind of potato dish every created with the exception of fries, which are somehow not her favorite. (I know, right? Who doesn't love fries!) Boiled baby new red potatoes with butter and chives, hasselback potatoes, loaded baked potatoes, smothered potatoes with pork chops, potatoes au gratin, creamed potatoes, spicy potato curry, Jersey Royals with fresh mint, potato salad. She does go on but I think you get the picture. 

The point of this story is that I grew up with a woman in charge of my daily meals who adores potatoes. This can affect a child one of two ways: you drink the Kool-Aid or you develop an aversion. I drank the Kool-Aid. 

While my love of potatoes is not as well documented as my love of bacon, I feel the two often go hand-in-hand. What potato au gratin or hash brown is not improved by the addition of some crispy bacon? Bacon-wrapped smashed potatoes, yes, please! And that goes double for baked potatoes with the works! 

Bacon-wrapped Loaded Baked Potatoes

My inspiration for this recipe came from a menu item served at Lambeau Field during Green Bay Packer games called The Pigskin. I read about it online when it was introduced back in 2016 and I couldn’t resist attempting my own. Theirs also includes chili inside the potato, as if the bacon and cheese inside and bacon outside weren’t heart-stopping enough! I think these potatoes are perfect as I make them though because the bacon "crust" is my favorite part. This recipe is easily scaled up or down, depending on how many people you are serving. 

Ingredients

For baking the potatoes: 

4 medium-sized russet potatoes (about 11 1/3 oz or 320g each)

1 lb or 450g bacon (not thick cut) - about 4 slices per potato

toothpicks

For loading the potatoes:

1 lb or 450g bacon, crisp fried, drained and chopped

8 oz or 225g extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup or 245g sour cream

Large bunch chives or green onion tops, chopped

Butter - we like lots. You do you. 

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Scrub and rinse the potatoes. Dry thoroughly. 

Wrap the potatoes with bacon. Overlap the slices and use four per potato. I used three here but next time, I’ll do four so that's what I put in the ingredients list. More bacon = better. Remember that the bacon will shrink as the potatoes bake. Poke a few toothpicks in to hold the bacon in place and pierce the baked potato. 

I remember being told that baked potatoes need to be poked so they don’t blow up in the oven. Perhaps that’s just an old wives’ tale but why take chances? Anecdotal evidence says it can happen. These toothpicks take care of that, just in case. 

Bake the bacon-wrapped potatoes in your preheated oven for 55 – 60 minutes or until the bacon is lovely and crispy and your potatoes are tender and fluffy inside. 

When baking time is up, remove the bacon-wrapped potatoes from the oven and carefully remove the toothpicks.

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. Cut a slit in the top of each potato and push on the ends to open them. The insides will still be very hot so be careful! Add a generous pat of butter.

Let each person add the other toppings they love. I want it all, baby! Who's with me? 

This is a full meal deal. Serve with a side salad or some veggies, if you want to feel more virtuous. But, fair warning: you may not be able to eat the whole thing if you do. (Hot tip: Warm your leftover half potato in the microwave the next morning. It's a fabulous breakfast.)

Enjoy! 

It's Sunday FunDay and I am pleased to share the following links with you! I love this group and all my baked potato-loving fellow bloggers! If you are a fan of baked potatoes like I am, you are gonna LOVE this list. 

• Bacon-wrapped Loaded Baked Potatoes from Food Lust People Love
• Baked Potatoes With Butter & Goat Cheese Filling from Sneha’s Recipe
• Cheesy Shrimp-Stuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes from Making Miracles
• Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potatoes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Leftover Turkey and Gravy Stuffed Potato from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Thanksgiving Dinner Twice Baked Potatoes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin these Bacon-wrapped Loaded Baked Potatoes!

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BLT (Bacon Lettuce Tomato) Muffins #MuffinMonday

Sun-dried tomatoes, crispy smoked bacon and still crunchy baby gem lettuce cooked briefly in bacon fat make a fabulous BLT muffin! Perfect for breakfast or snacking on the go.

Baby gem lettuce, quick fried in bacon fat, is a treat all on its own. Added to muffin batter with crispy bacon and sun-dried tomatoes, it makes a fabulous baked BLT that is handy for breakfast or snack time on the go.
I pride myself on being an adventurous eater. That said, the first time I encountered cooked lettuce was in the kitchen of a Dutch friend who was making lettuce soup. The sound of it didn’t appeal to me at all so I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was.

Since then I have enjoyed peas simmered with lettuce and butter the French way, grilled Romaine in salads and wilted lettuce cooked in bacon fat, in the Southern tradition. It wasn’t something I remember either of my grandmothers making but that doesn’t stop me from adopting it now.

For this week’s Muffin Monday and the start of Bacon Month, a BLT muffin with baby gem lettuce seared in bacon fat seemed like the obvious choice! I used my easy to make homemade sun-dried tomatoes but store bought would work just as nicely.

BLT (Bacon Lettuce Tomato) Muffins

Ingredients
4 1/2+ oz or 130g streaky smoked bacon (I used two thick cut slices and two normal slices because that’s what I had on hand.)
3/4 oz or 20g sun-dried tomatoes
3 small baby gem lettuces – about 7oz or 200g in total
2 cups or 250g flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon English mustard powder
Black pepper
1/4 cup or 60ml bacon fat and/or canola or other vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup or 240ml milk

Method
Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water and set aside to plump.

Fry the bacon until crispy and pour the fat into a 1/4 cup or 60ml measuring cup. Top up, if necessary to the full amount with oil.  Set aside. Do not wash the residual grease out of the pan! We are going to fry the lettuce in it. Drain the bacon on some paper towels.

Trim the brown end off of your baby gem lettuces, being careful to leave enough of the cores so they don’t fall apart. Now cut them each into halves.

Heat the bacon pan until quite hot and lay the baby gems in it, cut side down. Fry just a few minutes until browned and then turn them over carefully.

Brown the other side. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Cut the cores out of the lettuces and chop the leaves. I ended up with about 1 cupful of lettuce.

Drain the tomatoes and chop them into smaller bits, reserving 12 bigger pieces to garnish the muffins, if desired. Chop the crispy bacon finely, once again reserving 12 bigger pieces to garnish the muffins, if desired.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by lining it with paper muffin cups or by greasing it thoroughly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and mustard powder plus a few good grinds of fresh black pepper. My grinder actually has a mix of peppercorns, if you are wondering about the pink and green flecks.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and room temperature bacon fat/oil.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredient bowl and mix slightly.

Add in the chopped bacon, chopped lettuce and chopped tomatoes. Fold gently to combine.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Top with reserved bacon and tomato, if you kept some aside.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool slightly in the pan. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

• Bacon Bourbon Peach Ice Cream {No Churn} by Julie from White Lights on Wednesday
• Balsamic Bacon Onion Relish by Becca from It’s Yummy
• Bacon Jam by Paula from Call Me PMC
• Bacon Hash Browns by Raquel from Organized Island
• Baking Perfectly Crisp Bacon by Carrie from Frugal Foodie Mama
• BLT White Pizza from Kaylin at Keep It Simple Sweetie 

*This is an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy after clicking on the link, I earn some small change for referring you to Amazon, at no extra cost to you.

Bacon Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cookies #BaconMonth

Sweet, salty and smoky flavors combine gorgeously in these completely unhealthy but divine cookies baked with bacon and dark chocolate and dark brown sugar. 

I’ve said it before in this space but new readers would be fooled into believing the opposite: I am not much of a sweet eater. I love making them for others and I’ll try some, just to make sure the mix is right, but I am not tempted by cookies or cakes or even ice cream unless they have something salty or bitter or strong about them. They can’t be just sweet. These cookies have it all! Dark chocolate for just a little hint of bitterness, bacon and bacon fat for the salty component and, of course, dark brown sugar and bourbon for the sweet and strong. I took them along to a dinner party the other night and even the reluctant cookie eaters were sold. To save myself from temptation, I took my empty plate home and left behind the few cookies that remained. Now I am regretting that.

Next time I am going to add some toasted pecans as well. And keep them all to myself. :) Let me just warn you that if you don't have a problem with eating raw cookie dough, this one is trouble with a capital T.

Welcome to Week Four of Bacon Month!
Many thanks, once again, to Julie of White Lights on Wednesday for organizing this celebration of my favorite food and sponsoring the giveaway of The Bacon Cookbook* this week.

These cookies are an adaptation from this recipe on Recipe Girl. I figured, why use that much butter when you can use more bacon fat? Can I get a hell yeah?


Ingredients for two dozen cookies

6 slices thick cut smoked streaky bacon (about 8 oz or 225g)
Rendered bacon fat from the bacon, topped up with butter to 1/2 cup or 120ml
1 1/2 cups 190g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed or 150g dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 large egg
3 1/2 oz or 100g dark chocolate – I used a Lindt bar. So much better than cooking chocolate!

Method
Chop the chocolate up into little chunks and set aside.

Cut your bacon into small pieces and fry in a skillet until crispy. Scoop the bacon out with a slotted spoon, leaving behind as much bacon grease as you can in the skillet.

Drain the bacon bits on paper towels. Separate out a small handful for decorating the cookies before they bake.

Pour the warm bacon fat into a 1/2 cup or 120ml measuring cup and top up with butter until it is full. Allow to cool.

I'm guessing I had to add two to three tablespoons of butter to reach
my level as there was more than one-third a cup of rendered bacon fat from the fried bacon.

Combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop your chocolate into small chunks. Separate out a small handful for decorating the cookies before they bake.

With electric beaters or in your stand mixer, beat the bacon fat/butter with the brown sugar, bourbon and salt until the mixture turns light brown.

Add in the egg and beat again.

Isn't it amazing how light the brown sugar mixture becomes? Like magic.

Now tip in the flour mixture and beat again until well combined. Add the larger piles of bacon pieces and chocolate chunks to the dough and stir until combined.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

When you are almost ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a baking pan by greasing it or lining it with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls on the prepared pan and press slightly with a wet spoon to flatten. I like to use a little scoop.

Top with a few of the reserved pieces of bacon and chocolate.

Bake for eight to 10 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly. Place cookies on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

If you can resist eating these warm, you are a better person than I! 

Enjoy!

Are you ready for more bacon deliciousness?!


Now for the The Bacon Cookbook* giveaway! Please be aware that the book will only be shipped to US addresses. Canadian winners will receive an Amazon egift card for the price of the book. Full disclosure details can be found by clicking on Terms and Conditions on the Rafflecopter. This cookbook prize is sponsored by Julie of White Lights on Wednesday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*This is an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy after clicking on the link, I earn some small change for referring you to Amazon, at no extra cost to you.