Chocolate Chip Candied Bacon Cookies with Bourbon Cream

We're nearly at the end my friends: one of the last recipes from our Iron Chef Bacon Cook Off. This one is from my friend Talea, Chef Extraordinaire, who has been a runner-up in several national cooking show competitions. These are Tollhouse chocolate chip sandwich cookies taken to the max, and they are amazing.

For our party, Talea also made Goat Cheese Fruit Salad in Parmesan Baskets, which is a dish with a lot of "Wow" factor. It's as luscious as it it beautiful!

Ingredients - Candied Bacon

12 slices bacon, about 1/4-inch thick
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Instructions - Candied Bacon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put bacon slices in a bowl, season them with chili powder and toss with the brown sugar. Cover a baking sheet with foil and arrange the bacon in a single layer on top. Sprinkle any sugar left in the bowl over the bacon. Place the tray in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Enjoy eating the bacon on its own or crumpled into salads and other appetizers.

Side note: You may use the left over bacon grease to fry almonds or to flavor other dishes as the sugar and spices give it a delicious flavor.

Ingredients - Chocolate chip candied bacon cookies 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions - Chocolate chip candied bacon cookies 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixer bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until well-combined and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly add it to the dough while the mixer is running on medium speed. Chop the candied bacon. Take the beaters out of the dough, and stir in the bacon, chocolate and nuts by hand. 

Drop rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking pans. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes, then allow them to cool completely on wire racks. 

Makes about 36 cookies.

Ingredients - Bourbon buttercream

2 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp bourbon
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Beat together all ingredients until they form a fluffy frosting. When the cookies have completely cooled, place the frosting in a pastry bag with a large tip, or a plastic Ziploc bag with a corner snipped off, and squeeze off a quarter-sized  dollop of cream on the flat side of one cookie. Press it together with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Let cookies chill in the refrigerator for a half hour or so before serving as the cream needs time to set.

Makes about 18 double rich cookies.