Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (41 page)

7
Bake the cookies until they are slightly browned at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. To facilitate even browning, after about 6 minutes rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees so the back of the baking sheet faces the front of the oven.

8
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet until they firm slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Then, using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Makes 12 bars

If you glance at the granola offerings at any mini-mart or newsstand, you’ll note that many have strayed from their Age of Aquarius whole-ingredients roots. Too often granola has become a way that we tell ourselves that even when we eat sweets, we are really eating health food. Well, we will just come out and proclaim that while they are not unhealthy, our Bacon Granola Bars are made to satisfy your sweet tooth and your salt tooth and your hint-of-meat tooth. We love them with a freshly brewed cup of good coffee. We love them equally, if not more, with a happy-hour scotch. Keep some in the freezer; you will like the chewy texture and cool mouthfeel.

8 slices apple-wood–smoked or maple-flavored bacon, diced

½ cup dried cranberries

Juice of 1 medium-size orange

3½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup canola oil

¾ cup coarsely chopped almonds

¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt

⅓ cup honey

⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until nearly browned but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Then, using a slotted spoon or a Chinese bamboo skimmer, turn the pieces of bacon over in the fat to render as much fat as possible without overbrowning the bacon. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

2
Combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan. Cover the pan, let the orange juice come to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until the cranberries are very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Spoon the cranberries into a wire-mesh strainer and, working over the sink, use the bottom of a glass to gently push down on the cranberries to extract and drain off any excess liquid. Let the strained cranberries cool, and discard the liquid.

3
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with aluminum foil (see Note).

4
Place the rolled oats and oil in a large bowl and mix until evenly coated. Spread the oats in an even layer in the prepared baking pan and bake until pale golden, 25 to 28 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Watch the oats carefully to prevent them from overbrowning toward the end of the baking time.

5
While the oats bake combine all of the nuts in a large mixing bowl. Transfer half of the nuts to a food processor and process them for a few seconds until finely ground. Add the ground nuts to the coarsely chopped nuts. Set aside 2 to 3 tablespoons of the drained bacon and add the remaining bacon and the orange zest, cinnamon, and cooled cranberries to the bowl of nuts. Season the nut mixture with salt to taste.

6
Combine the honey and brown sugar in the small saucepan. Place it over medium-low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar is fully dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

7
Remove the baking pan with the oats from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300˚F. Stir the toasted oats into the nut mixture, setting aside the foil-lined baking pan. Add the honey and brown sugar mixture to the oat and nut mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the granola is well blended. Transfer the granola to the foil-lined baking pan. Using the bottom of a glass, pack the granola into a flat, tight layer. Sprinkle the reserved bacon evenly over the packed granola and, using the bottom of the glass, press the bacon into the granola. Bake the granola until golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

8
Place the baking pan on a wire rack and let the granola cool for 20 to 25 minutes. Grasping the foil, remove the granola from the baking pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Using a paring knife or boning knife, cut the granola into bars, each about 1¼- by 4-inches long. The granola bars can be stored in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Serves 2

We added pieces of salty, smoky bacon to the layers of graham crackers, chocolate, and melted marshmallow in this campfire classic. It instantly turns what is often considered a child’s treat into a dessert more suitable for adult palates. Keep the bacon warm on the edge of the grill and it will help the chocolate square melt a little before you add the toasted marshmallow. Although this recipe serves two, the ingredients can be increased easily to serve any number of lucky diners at the end of a tailgate or backyard picnic, when the grill fire is starting to die and the afternoon sun is starting to fade away. Pass around long-forks, or, better yet, have guests hunt for their own roasting sticks (forsythia branches are perfect).

1 slice applewood- or cherrywood-smoked bacon, cooked and cut in half crosswise

2 whole graham crackers, broken into 4 squares

2 thin 2-inch squares milk chocolate

2 large marshmallows (see Note)

1
Prepare a low fire in a charcoal grill or hibachi.

2
When the fire is ready, place the pieces of cooked bacon on the edges of the grill to keep them warm.

3
Just before you toast the marshmallows, lay a piece of bacon on each of 2 graham cracker halves. Then top each piece of bacon with a square of chocolate. Set aside.

4
Place each marshmallow on a thin, long stick or a long-handled fork and toast until they are lightly browned on all sides with a soft, gooey center.

5
Place 1 hot, toasted marshmallow on each of the chocolate squares and cover each with 1 of the remaining graham crackers.

6
Press down on the s’mores lightly to hold the sandwiches together. Let set a few seconds to allow the marshmallow to melt the chocolate, then enjoy!

Makes about 1½ pounds

It’s hard to eat just one piece of bacon, one peanut, or one little square of chocolate. Combine the three and you don’t have a chance at moderation, so consider yourself warned: If you make this toffee be prepared to give some away or you will surely eat it all. If you like to make sweets as a holiday gift, add this brittle toffee to your repertoire. While it’s delicious at room temperature, the toffee is wonderful to freeze and then break off a piece after dinner when you want something sweet but you don’t want to commit to a full-on dessert.

5 slices applewood- or hickory-smoked bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1½ cups lightly salted cocktail peanuts, plus 2 tablespoons chopped lightly salted cocktail peanuts

15 tablespoons (1¾ sticks, plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch-thick pieces, plus butter for greasing the baking pan

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 ounces 70 percent cacao dark chocolate, finely chopped

1
Butter a 15- by 10- by 1-inch nonstick baking pan and place it on a heatproof surface.

2
Cook the bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and crisp and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet.

3
Blot the drained pieces of bacon with paper towels to remove any excess grease. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the bacon pieces. Combine the remaining bacon pieces with the 1½ cups of peanuts in a medium-size bowl.

4
Pour the bacon fat from the skillet through a wire-mesh strainer set over a small bowl and then place 1 tablespoon of the strained bacon fat in a heavy deep 3- or 4-quart saucepan.

5
Add the butter and sugar to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the butter is almost melted, less than 1 minute. Then whisk constantly until the sugar is incorporated into the butter and the mixture is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla. Attach a candy thermometer securely to the side of the saucepan and let the butter and sugar mixture boil, whisking occasionally, until it is a deep golden and registers 300˚F on the thermometer.

6
Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately stir in the bacon and peanut mixture. Pour the hot toffee mixture carefully into the center of the prepared baking pan. Using a butter knife or metal spatula, spread the toffee mixture so that it covers about two thirds of the surface of the pan and is slightly less than ½ inch thick. Let the toffee set for about 30 seconds, then sprinkle the chocolate on top, spreading it out with the butter knife or spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped peanuts and the reserved bacon evenly over the top of the toffee and then freeze it until firm, about 30 minutes.

7
Slip the spatula under the toffee to loosen it from the pan and then break the toffee into pieces. The toffee can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 1⅔ cups

More properly a topping rather than a full-fledged dessert, this sauce is like pouring the flavor essence of pecan pie (porked up with bacon) over a scoop of ice cream. Bacon amplifies the distinctive flavors of caramelized sugar and cream. You can also serve this topping over waffles, baked apples, grilled bananas, or pound cake. And do add a snifter of Cognac or brandy to sip beside a nice fire.

1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract