Bacon Studded Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s hard to imagine bettering the beloved chocolate chip cookie. There’s a zillion recipes, each claiming to be better than the rest. Chocolate chunk, double chocolate, chewy chip, honestly there’s not a bad one in the bunch! But, when you combine all the best parts of that signature chocolate chip cookie with the salty goodness of candied bacon, magic happens!

When we decided to do a series centered around the upcoming Super Bowl, bacon was an obvious theme to choose. The salty-sweet flavor combination is one of my personal favorites. I love to add fleur de sel (thick, flaky salt) to a Hershey’s Chocolate Almond candy bar, and a caramel filled chocolate truffle is incomplete without a sprinkle of salt! I couldn’t wait to get a batch of sweet and salty chocolate chip cookies in the oven!

Preparing the bacon…

Bacon makes this recipe unique, specifically due to how it’s prepared for its debut with the iconic chocolate chip cookie. Anyone can fry bacon and add it to batter, but by candying it slowly in a simple syrup, we get the exact texture and flavor results we want, and are left with a bonus bacon-flavored syrup!

What is simple syrup…

Simple syrup, or sugar syrup, is sugar and water that’s been heated just enough to dissolve the sugar into the water, resulting in a sweetened and smooth liquid. It’s most often used in cocktails as a sweetener to avoid having to dissolve sugar granules. It’s also great for tea, especially cold tea, as well as soaking cake layers to add flavor and moisture. Simple syrup is the base to frozen desserts like sorbet and granita, and also what I feed my hummingbirds! (Plus it’s a lot cheaper than prepared hummingbird juice!)

There’s two main types of simple syrup, traditional and rich. The ratio of sugar to water determines the thickness and sweetness of the finished syrup. A syrup with a 1:1 ratio, or equal parts sugar to water, is traditional. This cookie recipe calls for the rich ratio of 2:1, meaning twice as much sugar as water. Steeping bacon in the rich syrup results in candied bacon strips, and a bacon infused sweet liquid.

Why use simple syrup…

Steeping bacon in a rich simple syrup, like we did with pistachios in White Chocolate Pistachio Ganache, creates a give and take from both the syrup and the bacon. The bacon releases its salty pork flavor, infusing the sugar water with its smoky flavor, while it soaks in the sweetness of the syrup, becoming glazed. The result is a shiny bacon strip, carrying both sweet and salty flavors! Bacon baked with brown sugar won’t give the same deeply candied results, and more importantly, you won’t be left with a bacon infused syrup!

Tips for the bacon chocolate chip cookie dough…

Since candied bacon can be chewy, chop it finely. This ensures even distribution throughout each cookie, both for flavor and texture. Rest the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours to ensure the softest, chewiest bacon studded cookies. If you can’t wait that long (and I don’t blame you!) you can bake them right away, but give resting them a chance! This lets the gluten in the dough relax after being beaten. Relaxed gluten yields a softer cookie, which is the goal!

This week’s Dessert Bar…

Chocolate chip cookies are ideal for dessert tables because of their widespread popularity, so naturally Bacon Studded Chocolate Chip Cookies scream game day dessert, alongside Bacon Infused Caramel Dip and other sweet and salty treats! Stay tuned for the entire collection of bacon-themed recipes for your Game Day Dessert Table!

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Bacon Studded Chocolate Chip Cookies

A chewy chocolate chip cookie full of chocolate chips and chopped candied bacon bits

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Candied Bacon1 hour hr 27 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 2 dozen cookies

Author: Rachel

Ingredients

• 150 g bacon raw
• 183 g sugar (2)
• 92 g water
• 114 g butter room temperature
• 98 g brown sugar
• 102 g white sugar
• 40 g egg
• 2 g vanilla
• 102 g cake flour
• 98 g all purpose flour
• 2 g baking powder
• 3 g baking soda
• 4 g salt kosher
• 200 g chocolate chips

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Lay bacon on sheet pan and bake at 400* for 20 minutes or until crispy. Drain and cool.
• In small pot, heat water and sugar (2) until clear and dissolved. Add bacon strips.
• Soak bacon in simple syrup for 90 minutes. Keep syrup at a very low simmer, turning off heat if needed. Do not boil or the syrup will reduce to a caramel.
• Remove bacon and drain on wire rack, with parchment lined cookie sheet underneath.
• Strain syrup and store in refrigerator.
• Once cooled, chop bacon finely. Set aside.
• Sift dry ingredients together
• In large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and brown and white sugars for 3-5 minutes. Mixture should be light and fluffy.
• Add egg and vanilla, mix thoroughly.
• Slowly add sifted dry ingredients until just moistened.
• Fold in chocolate chips and chopped bacon.
• Place plastic wrap touching dough and refrigerate 24-72 hours.
• Bring dough back to room temperature, about 1-2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350*
• Scoop onto baking pan with a medium (2 Tbsp) scoop
• Sprinkle dough balls with fleur de sel or coarse sea salt. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until just set.
• Cool on pan for 5 minutes, remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Dough can be frozen in scooped cookie balls for up to 6 months.