Cookies are awesome. Cookies with alcohol are better. Only one thing can improve a cookie with alcohol, can you guess what it is? It’s OK I’ll wait… Exactly! BACON. Bacon makes everything better… except for bacon, but that’s a mathematical argument about infinite series that I’m not equipped for today. Today I am here to talk about cookies. These cookies are by no means your grandma’s traditional Christmas cookies. They have a depth of flavor that is truly amazing. The smokiness of the bourbon, the saltiness of the bacon paired with the sweet caramel flavor of the brown sugar leads to a cookie that will truly knock your socks off.

One of the keys to this cookie’s flavor is the use of bacon grease as one of the fats in the cookie. The bacon grease infuses the bacon flavor throughout the cookie making the bacon bits more like flavor crystals of crispy goodness. I fried up 1 pound of bacon to have some left over and ended up using all the grease, if you only use half a pound which should make enough for 1/2 cup chopped bacon make up the difference in volume with shortening (yes, it has to be shortening). Because the bacon itself contains it’s own oil, you cannot add as much as you would like for texture, so instead I added in some chopped pecans to give some needed texture.

Bourbon Bacon Bookies (about 4 dozen)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup bacon grease
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped bacon bits
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, bacon grease, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the bourbon and beat until a smooth mixture forms (about 1 minute). In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except the bacon and pecans). Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 2 or 3 additions mixing well after each addition. Fold in the bacon bits and chopped pecans.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment, drop 1 mounded tablespoon of dough per cookie about 2 inches apart on the sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the tops of the cookies appear dry. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet. DO NOT move the cookies while they are still warm! They firm up considerably while cooling. Leave some of these out for Santa if you think you are on the naughty list this year. They are sure to get you an upgrade.