Valentine’s Day is coming, and I have a post for you later this week that rounds up all my favourite chocolate recipes.
But this. This is the ultimate Valentine’s Day treat to make for your (non-vegetarian) sweetie.
First of all, bacon belongs in the same magical category as unicorns and sriracha (in fact, there’s a fun blog called Bacon Sriracha Unicorn Diaries. Read it). I have often said I could happily give up meat and be a true vegetarian…. if it weren’t for bacon.
This past year for me, has been a love affair with all things that combine sweet and savoury. When I was in Edmonton a couple months back, I discovered a restaurant that sold chocolate covered bacon. I totes ordered that. And it was gooood.
So. While bacon and chocolate might seem like strange bedfellows, I’m guessing a few people have said the same about you and your sweetie. So why not bake up a batch of these opposites-attract-in-the-most-delicious-way cookies?
I got this recipe from Angie Quaale, BBQ master and owner of Well Seasoned in Langley. I attended a pork cooking class at Well Seasoned before Christmas, and Angie graciously shared her recipe with us.
These cookies, by the way, made the list of Vancouver Magazine’s 101 things to eat before you die, and if you don’t want to make them yourself, you can order them already constructed from Well Seasoned. Bake them up in the oven, and your sweetie will never know you didn’t do the heavy lifting.
The key to making the recipe is to make sure your bacon is crispy. You want the bacon to add both a salty and a textural element to the otherwise soft cookies. You could also candy your bacon, you know, just to take it up a notch.
My gal Emily (@the_fat_pigs) and Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies: a match made in heaven.
Angie Quaale’s World Famous Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
- 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 8 oz chocolate chips
6 slices thick cut Johnston’s bacon – cooked crisp and roughly chopped OR candied (see below. If you are going to candy your bacon, you’ll also need 2/3 cup maple syrup)
Method:
To candy the bacon: Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and bake the bacon for about 15 minutes, until brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and drain well on paper towels. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees, and place back on the pan. Pour over the maple syrup, and turn the bacon to coat well. Bake for 15 minutes, turn, and then bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on parchment paper. Bacon will crisp up as it cools.
For the cookies:
- Cream together butter and sugars until smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla and blend in. Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Finally, stir in chocolate chunks and bacon.
- Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
Angie Quaale will be doing a cooking demo at The Wellness Show on Friday, February 13, at 6 pm. She’ll be making Blackened BC Pork Tenderloin Medallions, Artichoke, Mushroom & Garlic Sauce for Pasta. She’ll also be giving away a couple of seats to one of her cooking classes to those who attend. I’ll be there–hope to see you!
