I’m always a little late to the party—both literally and figuratively. More often than not I’m about fifteen minutes late to events, and I’m usually eight to twelve months behind on whatever’s trending in pop culture.
Case in point: Angry Birds. I just started playing and now I can’t put my phone down.
And The Hunger Games? I finally read the first book and was hooked immediately.
Bacon is everywhere now—bacon in cookies included. I wondered why I waited so long to try it. What have I been doing since 2008? Probably making cupcakes.
What’s next? Tiny macarons on a stick from a food truck? Tell me in eight months.
Another reason I hadn’t tried peanut butter and bacon together sooner is simple: they rarely coexist in my kitchen. But with the motto “better late than never,” a few slices of leftover bacon from weekend brunch, a jar of emergency peanut butter, and a rainy day in Brooklyn, I decided to combine the two.
Salty black pepper bacon bits pair perfectly with soft, creamy peanut butter cookies. A scattering of dark chocolate chips adds unexpected bursts of rich chocolate that balance the sweet-and-salty combination. Rolling the dough lightly in sugar and marking each cookie with a fork gives them a simple, rustic finish. These cookies vanish fast—so don’t wait years to try them.
Peanut Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (56 grams) butter, softened
2/3 cup (150 grams) smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup (110 grams) brown sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
1 egg
1 cup (125 grams) flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon (15 ml) buttermilk (or milk)
1/4 cup (40 grams) dark chocolate chips
3 slices cooked bacon, cooled and chopped into small bits
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar, for rolling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the softened butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg until smooth. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the buttermilk until the dough is smooth, then fold in the dark chocolate chips and chopped bacon.
Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form balls of dough and drop them into the sugar, rolling each so it is evenly coated. Place the sugared dough balls on the prepared baking sheet and gently press the top of each cookie with the tines of a fork to create a crosshatch pattern.
Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the center is just set and the edges are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.