Applewood Smoked Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies
I wish I could take credit for these, but alas – they are the brainchild of Jen at Chocolate & Ginger. She came up with them to sell at the Food Blogger Bake Sale taking place this weekend at the Market Collective, happening this weekend in the old Anthill building in Kensington (148-10 St NW) in support of Calgary Meals on Wheels. It runs on Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 11-5 – admission is $2 or a food bank donation. We chatted about it on CBC this morning, and so I made these to bring in – bacon is a breakfast food, right? – and made a great number of people very happy.
I’ll be at the bake sale on Saturday from 12-2pm flogging our wares.. not quite sure what I’ll be making yet. Possibly maple sponge toffee. Or brownie pops. Or maybe some good old pound cakes and loaves. W and I bought mini pie tins, and now he’s all revved up to make little pies. So there’s that. Except that once we make them I may not be able to part with them. I get attached that way.
It’s quite a lineup of food bloggers on board – it was dreamt up and organized by Vincci of Ceci n’est pas un food blog, and besides myself she rounded up Pierre of Kitchen Scraps, Jen of Chocolate & Ginger, Dan of Dan’s Good Side, Vlad of Vlad’s Gonzo Food Blog, Lauren of Celiac Teen, Claire of I Love Alberta Beets, Zoey of Vegedible, Chelsey of The Crazy Kitchen, Fareen of Food Mamma John & Nancy of ChowTown, Cheryl of Backseat Gourmet, Peter of The Celiac Husband, Liz of Truffle Mutt, Andrea of Live, Laugh, Love, EAT!!!, Heather the Calgary Restaurant Examiner and Bonnie of Scrumptiously Fit Food.
Phew. That took a lot of energy. I need a cookie.
So have you heard of Mo’s Bacon Bars? I had heard of them, but not tried one – they are Applewood bacon + alderwood salt + deep milk chocolate – 82 g (or thereabouts) for $10. Fortunately I’m not rich enough to become addicted. (You can find them at Savour in Inglewood and the Cookbook Company on 11th Ave.) Jen had the brilliant idea to turn them into a cookie.
I imagine you could chop up a Mo’s Bacon Bar into any chocolate chip cookie dough, but this is a good one. Crispy edged, soft in the middle. (If you’re looking for a sort of chocolate chip cookie tutorial, I posted one over here today.)
Chocolate & Ginger’s Applewood Smoked Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies
recipe courtesy of Jen at Chocolate & Ginger – thanks Jen!
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
1 Vosges Mo’s bacon bar (with applewood smoked bacon, alderwood smoked salt and deep milk chocolate), chopped
1 70% dark chocolate bar (ie Lindt/Valrhona), cut into rough small chunks or 1 1/4 cup dark choc chips works tooIn a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or like me, with a bowl and wooden spoon), beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated, then stir in the flour mixture followed by the nuts and chocolate chunks.
On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably overnight – or freezer for couple hours to speed up.
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice the logs into disks 3/4 inch thick and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the nuts or chips crumble out, simply push them back in.
Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
June 15 2010 | cookies & squares | 15 Comments »
