Brown butter chocolate chip cookies with candied bacon. If these cookies don’t cure your sweet and salty snack craving, I’m not quite sure what will. Come on in to the virtual kitchen and let me show you how easy they are to make!
As the battle with my poor health continues, I’ve been keeping my spirits up by surrounding myself with a few of my favorite things. *insert cheesy yet wonderful Julie Andrews Sound of Music tune here* My favorite things are NOT raindrops on roses… but whiskers on kittens are cute.
Baby giggles – Since I’m far too ancient to grace the world with a beautiful baby that possesses an adorable giggle, I’ve had to use my resourceful nature and seek out videos of adorable baby giggles on YouTube.
Browned butter and bacon – Until this brown butter candied bacon cookie came along, I could have listed these items separately as two of my favorite things. Actually, I probably still could, considering the fact that brown butter is so delicious on its own that I could drink it through a straw. And bacon? Well, unless you’re brand spanking new to the pages of this site, you already know about my obsession with pork fat. I just can’t get enough.
However, I decided to combine my two loves with one other favorite, chocolate chip cookies and now my life will never be the same.
If you make a batch of brown butter candied bacon cookies, I can promise that you’ll say the same thing.
There’s just nothing but pure bliss to be had from the sweet and salty combination.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Aside from the obvious brown butter, there’s also candied bacon in the chocolate chip cookies. I’ll get to the brown butter in a minute, but first…
What is Candied Bacon?
Candied bacon is made by baking strips of good quality, thinly sliced bacon (center cut works well) that have been dredged in brown sugar and cinnamon on both sides.
Place them onto a cooling rack that has been laid on top of a foil lined cookie sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the sugar has been caramelized onto the bacon. It’s obscenely addictive and so freaking good.
After you’ve candied the bacon, you dice it up into pieces that are about the same size as a chocolate chip and add them to the cookie dough before you bake them. It adds a wonderful chewy, salty aspect to the cookie that is out of this world good.
Because the dough for the brown butter chocolate chip cookies has to be chilled before it can be baked, you won’t be able to stir the bacon into the dough. I just placed a few pieces of bacon into the balls of dough as I was panning them up…easy peasy.
Another secret weapon of awesomeness to these brown butter candied bacon cookies is the addition of some Ceylon cinnamon. I started adding it to my regular chocolate chip cookie dough a couple of years ago and I can’t really explain in words how that little added touch creates an extra special flavor note to the cookie that leaves you craving more of them. Especially when they’re warm right from the oven. Amazing!
In case you didn’t catch last week’s recipe for Snickers Cheesecake Bars, here’s a video tutorial on how to make brown butter.
Brown butter originated in France, by the way. Over there it’s called beurre noisette.
These may be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten in my lifetime. I hope you try them and feel the same way!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candied Bacon
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups bread flour (this gives the cookies a wonderful chewy texture)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter browned
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar packed
- 1 Tablespoon half and half or milk
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups chocolate chips bittersweet or semi-sweet
- 4 slices candied bacon chopped
Instructions
- Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda onto a piece of parchment paper or into a bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Continue to cook on low heat, swirling the pan often, until butter has browned to an amber color. It should have a nutty aroma.
- Remove from heat and stir in the white and brown sugars.
- Scrape the batter into a medium mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to cream the brown butter and sugars together.
- Add half & half, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and eggs. Use mixer at high speed to beat ingredients until well combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture and incorporate into the batter with electric mixer on low speed. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. The cookie dough will be very soft and buttery. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until firm (an hour or two).
- Heat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Use a #30 serving scoop (2 Tablespoons) to place balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, keeping about an inch and a half between each ball. Take a few pieces of candied bacon and incorporate them into each dough ball.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set on the edges but still a little soft in the center (they'll continue to bake on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes after you remove them from the oven)
- After 2 minutes, remove cookies from the baking sheet and place on wire racks to cool completely.
Bernadette Martin says
OMG! That counts as a comment, right? OMG!!
Debbie says
These sound really amazing. I’m adding these to my Christmas Cookie list.
Carrie @ Bakeaholic Mama says
How did I miss this blog post?!?! I knew you were making them but never saw the recipe. WOW need to make them asap!!!!
Dee says
Wow…who’da thunk, candied bacon!!? No doubt you’ve created a hit with this one Becca!