Weird, Yet Tasty -- Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Apparently, bacon-as-dessert is the new cupcake. Weird, right? Yeah, I was highly skeptical too. My one taste of bacon-plus-confection was a bite of a maple bacon ice cream cone at the local county fair last summer. It was... okay... but I found myself wishing the bacon was crispier and less chewy, or preferably not even there at all. It was kind of a weird sensation to have chunks of chewy meat in your ice cream.

The former vegetarian in me was squeamish at the thought of a cookie in this same vein. But if it was trending so hard in the blogosphere, there had to be something to it, right? I looked back on all the times I scoffed at a fashion trend or two then ended up falling for them in the end. I remember my mom buying Ugg boots and how I laughed at how "ugly" they were... then one day when I had to shovel they were the closest boots to the door and I threw them on to trudge through the snow. Then I borrowed them for the day. Then the week. Then my mom was asking me where her Ugg boots went. Eventually I accepted that this toasty-warm, yet bulbous and somewhat cumbersome footwear was just ideal for the harsh New England winters. Soon I had my own pair.

Similar things have happened with jeggings, hair feathers, and neon accent pieces. All trends I was uneasy about, then found ways to incorporate them into my own style in a less jarring way. So, how are bacon cookies any different? I decided to take the plunge.

And, you know what? I'm glad I did. While these aren't necessarily the FIRST thing I'd opt for when having a chocolate chip cookie craving, they certainly hold their own in a bizarre way. I made sure the bacon was thoroughly crisped and crumbled before adding to the batter, and that the chip-to-bacon-bit ratio was at LEAST 2:1 and the added grease from the bacon ensured a perfectly chewy cookie.  What resulted was a delicious chocolate chip cookie with a hint of saltiness. This is the same reason why I devour chocolate dipped pretzels--salty and sweet were just made to be together.

When I brought these bad boys to work I assumed the "bacon" component would deter people from trying them. Nope, word soon spread from the office that I had some crazy awesome cookies at my desk, and people were coming over from across the building to try one. Even my parents, who at first seemed almost scared of the chocolate-meat-cookies ended up sampling a few and gushing over them. I think I'll call this a win.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Based on the NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® recipe on the back of the bag. Feel free to use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and just throw in the bacon with the chips)
(Again, I threw away the bag so I Googled the recipe and copied from here)

•  2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Milk Chocolate Morsels
• 7 pieces bacon, cooked to desired crispiness and crumbled (I baked mine at 400 degrees F until crispy, then drained on a paper towel while I prepared the cookie dough)

-Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and bacon. Form balls into desired size and place on ungreased baking sheet.

-Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks or plate to cool completely.

-If desired, top with melted chocolate and a piece of cooked bacon for garnish.