I just want to start by saying: I'm so sorry for being MIA for the past few days! I was overloaded with classwork, so the baking and blogging was put on hold for a little while. Ah, what a week. I have a few ideas for future posts that will both increase post variety and enable me to post more often. I'm pretty excited about them!
Anyway, even though I was up to my ears in data diagnostics tools and technology acceptance models, I still found time to make (and devour!) some tasty treats. The recipes I'll unveil over the next few days are a) easy to make, b) good for transporting, c) can be eaten sans fork and plate, and most importantly, d) are dangerously good! As I mentioned before, I'm going to share a few recipes for the Super Bowl, and this next recipe (and also, Weird Experiment) is definitely something that will satisfy your favorite sports fans.
So this here is a chocolate chocolate chip cookie with bacon in it. To those of you who might be recoiling from this blog in horror, I'll try to explain...
For the past year or so, I've been noticing more and more blog entries dedicated to the unlikely duo that is chocolate and bacon. Chocolate-covered bacon is becoming more and more popular, with its own legion of devotees to the unusual flavor, and from food festivals to gourmet restaurants, the pairing is gaining in intrigue and trendiness. The idea is that you mix the sweet, rich smoothness of chocolate with the savory, salty crispness of bacon, and the result is a complex and unusual dessert. In theory, anyway. Despite being tempted to try out a few recipes here and there (hello, bacon brownies!), I finally decided to give it a shot myself. The results? Here's my honest opinion:
First off, the cookie is very aesthetically pleasing and like it came from a bakery or a package. It looks super chewy and just... yum. Josh was initially quite excited to try one until I hinted that there was a "surprise" inside (yeah, I'm a little jerk and I didn't tell him what I was making!). After cautiously taking a couple of bites, our consensus was that the cookie tasted pretty good, amazing in fact, but the bacon parts were a little too chewy. And then there was the matter of the meaty aftertaste. You just don't expect that with innocent-looking chocolate chip cookies. Of course, part of this reaction could stem from the fact that we're conditioned to eating our cookies with, you know, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, oatmeal, fruit bits, (begrudgingly) walnuts... My point is, perhaps the texture wasn't great, but perhaps the IDEA of the whole thing wasn't great (to us, anyway). To try to get more of a handle on it, I ate a few more cookies (I promise, it was just for that... for science!), but more than anything, I just really felt disappointed.
This isn't to say that all chocolate and bacon concoctions aren't good, or to even dissuade any of you to try it out! I think part of our problem is that a) I like my bacon slightly undercooked, so there's less crisp to it. I think, for this to work, and in retrospect, a really crunchy bacon will be more ideal, and b) I love extra dark cocoa powder, which is what I used. I think a sweeter cocoa powder and a milk chocolate will be more ideal to better counteract the bacon flavor.
So, you're probably wondering why I'm recommending a cookie that I openly admitted to not enjoying myself? Well, without the bacon, this cookie recipe is amazing. These chocolate chocolate chip cookies are some of the best cookies I've ever had, hands down. They look good, they're really moist and pack a lot of flavor. They're also great with milk (or, as our picture depicts, Coke Zero).
Note: I retrieved this recipe from allrecipes.com. The website is amazing!
The Recipe:
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bacon
You need:
6 slices maple-cured bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks
Instructions:
| 1. | Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). |
| 2. | Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble. |
| 3. | Beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy and smooth. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the chocolate chips and bacon. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. |
| 4. | Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. |
Good luck with your cookies, and may your Super Bowl experience be a good one! Also, if you have any weird experiment ideas, let me know. I had waaaay too much fun with this!
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