Bacon Bakin'

I really enjoy combinations of sweet and salt. So, why not have bacon chocolate chip cookies join the Sweet/Salt Shortlist of peanut butter cups, chocolate covered pretzels, and sea salt caramels? Call them a meat/sweet violation…OR call them delicious!

I thought I’d stick to a simple chocolate chip cookie adaptation to test the meat’s mettle. Here is the recipe, with my commentary in italics.

• 2 1/4 C flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 C granulated sugar
• 3/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 C cocoa morsels
• 10-12 slices bacon, cooked to a crisp and then finely chopped. I underestimated the amount of bacon I needed, not realizing that the 7 huge-looking slices in a package would cook down so much. At slightly less than double what I put in, 12 slices is probably an ideal amount of bacon.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
3. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add the eggs and beat well. Gradually stir in the flour mixture.
4. Add chopped, cooked bacon and mix in to the batter. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, and then remove. 8 minutes was actually sufficient in my case, knowing that the oven in question has a history of blackening anything by the recommended cooking time. Watch your cookies closely to determine when you should remove them.

I was impressed with the end result. The actual batter was rather sturdy – it was never runny, not even while in the oven, and it held the chocolate chips and bacon well – plus, it baked into thick, chewy cookies. The maple bacon gave off a delicious syrupy aroma while cooking, and retained a hint of maple taste once done. Its crunchiness, saltiness, and, well, bacon-iness go without saying. The bacon softened somewhat in the baking process, and imbued its neighboring batter with its flavor. I can’t stand this softening / absorption when nuts are involved, but it was most appreciated with the bacon. Any way to further convey the opposing flavors within the cookie is appreciated. I should have used quality milk chocolate chips rather than Whole Foods’ house-brand semisweet chips: the chips were rather waxy, and a sweeter chocolate would have been a better counterpoint to the meat. However, I still enjoyed every cookie bite…and dough ball! Each bite gives you substantial yet soft dough, melted chocolate, and salty, somewhere-between-crispy-and-chewy bacon. It’s even more tempting than a hilariously horrible cult film, as this picture attests.
The recipe made 36 cookies, which would have been 40 if I hadn't snacked on the dough. I clearly enjoyed this taste of "extreme" baking. If I bake with bacon again, I’ll kick the adventure factor up a notch, maybe by incorporating another salty ingredient.

A Very Flour Valentine

Flour's Fort Point outpost whipped up all sorts of tasty Valentine’s-inspired treats this past Sunday. I managed to be lured away from their red-and-white-frosted chocolate cupcake by a variety of donuts. Greg has extolled the virtues of Flour's donuts for some time, and I finally experienced why.
The donuts are rolled in slightly-sticky sugar. This guarantees that your fingers, lips, and tongue get a helping of grainy sweetness right off the bat. I may have even tasted a hint of vanilla-y lemon, though that could be the faint flavorings of the donut proper being more noticeable in the pastry’s crust. The pastry part of the donut is unusually sturdy but spare in terms of density and flavor. It is more similar to a slightly-sweet roll than a breakfast pastry; however, there’s a sugary chewiness to the dough that reminds you that it is, in fact, a donut. Such a roll is a great canvas for the sugar…and filling! The filling is plentiful and well-distributed throughout each donut. The same raspberry jam that gives the pop tarts such character fills the donut on the left – the intense raspberry flavor, robust seeding, and thickness still apply. My donut on the right is filled with rosewater raspberry cream. Imagine a very light, whipped frosting that tastes like a creamy bouquet of roses and smells even better, with raspberry jam evenly mixed throughout. The floral-fruit combination is absolute bliss!

However, this Very Flour Valentine doesn’t end with the donuts. How could we resist these adorable conversation-heart sugar cookies? I knew they'd be much tastier than their chalky inspirations. The thin, crunchy vanilla cookie is covered in a layer of hard confectioner's-sugar frosting. Each crisp bite delivers equal parts cookie and icing, though the cookie softens and melts away in your mouth before the icing. The sugar lingers in your mouth like a Valentine's kiss. So good!

Lastly, I had to bring this miniature chocolate cream pie home. It reminded me of the pies I’d find everywhere growing up in the Midwest, down to the shaved chocolate on top! Chewy semisweet chocolate shavings, in the cutest curlicues, sit on a bed of vanilla whipped cream. This cool, refreshing treat covers the heart of the pie, a thick chocolate cream of admirable richness. The chocolate's cacao content lies somewhere between those of milk and semisweet chocolates, and heavy cream keeps the mixture smooth. However, my favorite part of this pie was the crust. The crust’s restrained flakiness – substantive and sturdy on plate and in fork, flaky in mouth – is its standout characteristic. It is also less buttery than many pastry crusts, and more flavoring agents, potentially cinnamon and brown sugar, make up for any butter I may have otherwise missed.

Bravo, Flour!