Bacon. It’s so good that even Michael Scott was willing to injure himself just to wake up to the smell of it cooking. There’s a craze surrounding it. Literally. There is a full Wikipedia page out there about bacon mania. We dip it in chocolate, wrap it around the outside of sandwiches, and even make gum to imitate the flavor. Even vegans and the health-conscious have made efforts to try and recreate a version of the food that best fits their diet. It’s good.
It’s especially good when you toss it into some cookie dough. The first time I ever tried a Maple Bacon Cookie was at Schmackaray’s–my ultimate New York cookie obsession. It was rare that I ever deviated from my favorite offering (Caramel Apple Crisp, which I have created my own version of to share some day soon), but when my first choice wasn’t on the menu, I ventured into more unfamiliar territory. That was when I decided to give the Maple Bacon a try.
It sounds like it could be weird when you first hear it, but then, as you think about it, the combination makes sense in a cookie. Maple and bacon blend together flawlessly–the sweetness of the syrup and the smoky, saltiness of bacon–and we don’t even question why someone would order a plate of pancakes with a side of bacon at breakfast. Sure, there are people who prefer sausage, and those who would rather have a side of fruit, but the popularity of bacon is undeniable. When you put them into these cookies, it’s basically a mess-free, hand-held pancake that you can enjoy at any time of the day.
These cookies are soft and chewy. There’s maple syrup in the dough as well as on the candied bacon (which I highly recommend you make on a wire rack–I initially tried it directly on the foil and it burned in no time!), and the addition of the toffee pieces bring these to another level. With a batch of these in the house, you just might be able to get away with eating cookies for breakfast–and I see nothing wrong with that!
| Cook Time | 16-18 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 8 ounces bacon preferably center cut
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Ingredients
Candied Bacon
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- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top of it. In a shallow bowl, mix together the brown sugar, ground black pepper, and maple syrup. Dip the bacon strips into the mixture, making sure both sides are covered with the sugar/syrup mix. Line the bacon on the wire rack. Bake 15-20 minutes until the brown sugar is melted and caramelized and the bacon is cooked. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the bacon to cool and firm up. Once cooled, cut into small pieces.