Maple Bourbon Bacon Blondies

Bourbon. Bacon. Do I have your attention?

I can’t believe that I have been doing this blog for two months already, and this is the first time that I’ve done something with bacon. What was I thinking?? Situation remedied, guys! So sorry for the delay.

I was searching for an interesting blondie recipe and happened upon this one from Poet in the Pantry. Also, love that blog name. The recipe is so interesting and unique. If you’re looking for something to bring to a potluck that you know no one else will bring and everyone will ask about, this is the recipe. The salty/sweet combination is a winner!

The first step is candying the bacon. Hot tip: make extra. This bourbon maple bacon is SO good, you’ll want to make it whether or not you’re making the blondies. Weigh the bacon before cooking, because the weight afterwards will be inaccurate, and you’ll end up with more bacon in the recipe than you expect. If that doesn’t sound like a bad idea to you, by all means, add extra. Also, let’s be friends.

Combine bourbon, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer to reduce it slightly. Meanwhile, place a raised rack in a foil-lined sheet pan. Arrange bacon in a single layer. Brush the reduced mixture on the bacon. While you bake the bacon, you baste with the bourbon syrup, turning every 5-10 minutes until crisp. Depending on the thickness of the bacon, this can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes.

Somewhere during this, take your eggs out so they can come up to room temperature! I always forget to check if a recipe calls for room temperature eggs/butter! We melt the butter in this one, but the eggs need at least 20 minutes on the counter before you mix up the batter.

Glorious. I hope you made extra.

While that cools and you’re getting your ingredients together, toast the walnuts. You could do this without toasting, but you’re oven’s already on, and it adds an extra depth of flavor. I highly recommend it. You could also make the bacon the night before if you so desire! In that case, stick the walnuts in the oven while it pre-heats, just don’t forget they are in there!

There’s maple and bourbon in the batter too, which I absolutely love. It doesn’t just depend on the bacon bits for those flavors.

Add the chopped candied bacon and walnuts in at the end and spread into a 9×13 cake pan that’s brushed with butter and lined with parchment.

Look at all that bacon!!

It only takes 30 minutes before this bourbony, bacony, nutty batter bakes into bacon cookies.

That’s right! Bacon. Cookies.

For those of you who have never had a bacon cookie, let me tell you what you have been missing! Initially, it’s sweet, and you get that toasted walnut flavor with the maple and caramel flavors from the syrup and bourbon. Then you bite into a smokey bit of bacon, and it’s a whole new world of flavor. The bourbon and the bacon are a perfect combination. This is breakfast in a bite. I’ve never had anything like it.

Think they’re too weird and won’t stand up to, say your typical Brownie Recipe? I brought equal numbers of them and served them side by side to my co-workers/completely willing taste testers, and they were devoured pretty evenly. Mention the words bourbon and bacon in the same sentence, and people swoon. They also try very hard to say “Maple Bourbon Bacon Blondies” five times fast. I didn’t even have time to try one under a scoop of ice cream topped with caramel sauce before they disappeared! Guess I’d better make them again!

Maple Bourbon Bacon Blondies

March 1, 2019

Servings: Two dozen two inch squares

Prep: 50 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 1 hr 20 min

Difficulty: easy

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Maple Bourbon candied bacon baked into a delicious cookie bar! Don't be discouraged from the long recipe time! Part of that is for the bacon, which you could totally do the night before! Original recipe compliments of poetinthepantry.com

By: Nina

Ingredients

For the Candied Bacon:
8 oz Thick Cut Smoked Bacon (I used applewood smoked)
1/3 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Real Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Bourbon
For the Cookies:
1 cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 cup (one stick) Unsalted Butter
2 cups packed Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Real Maple Syrup
3 Large Eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp Bourbon
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt

Directions

Step 1 Preheat oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack sprayed with non-stick spray inside
Step 2 Arrange strips of bacon in a single layer without any overlap
Step 3 In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, maple syrup, and bourbon together over medium heat, stirring until it starts to boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes until mixture thickens
Step 4 Brush bacon with mixture and bake for 10 minutes
Step 5 Flip bacon over, brush again with bourbon mixture, and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes
Step 6 Continue to turn and baste every 5 minutes until done. Don’t allow it to burn. Bacon will get crisper as it cools. When cooled, chop or crumble into bits
Step 7 Lower the heat to 350F. Spread walnuts into a single layer in a baking dish and bake, stirring periodically, until fragrant. Allow to cool
Step 8 Grease a 9×13 baking pan with butter and line with parchment
Step 9 Melt butter in a microwave or on a stove top. Allow to cool slightly. Stir in brown sugar and maple syrup
Step 10 Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to mix in before adding the next
Step 11 Stir in the bourbon and vanilla extract
Step 12 Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated, then stir in the walnuts and bacon
Step 13 Spread evenly into the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown
Step 14 Cool before cutting