Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

Last week, I was in Las Vegas for a work convention, and let me just tell you, five days in Vegas is way too many. One thing I got to indulge on while there, though, was bacon. I don't consider myself the biggest bacon person, but then I have some and I'm like oh wait, right, bacon is actually quite delicious. Why do I forget? Who knows.

So I decided to take my bacon-spiration and put it into cookie form! And now just any cookies - peanut butter cookies. Peanut butter + bacon + cookies? Definite winner.

The base peanut butter cookie here is an old, gluten-free, standard that I only learned of about 10 or so years ago while living abroad in Ireland. No, it's not an Irish recipe, but one of my fellow study abroad-ers knew it and we made it quite often since it was so easy and required very little ingredients. It's the 1-1-1 recipe - 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg. Technically this also adds in some baking soda and changes up the sugar a tad, but you get the idea. Super easy.

And super versatile! You can add in the bacon like I have here, or you can just make them plain, or you can add in some chocolate chips like you can see below. OR, you can add in bacon AND chocolate chips for double whammy action. I didn't do that here because my boyfriend isn't a big chocolate person, but he IS a big bacon person, so I didn't want to make him sad.

So if you're in the mood for some salty and some sweet, give these a try! I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed. Especially if you like bacon.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 slices bacon, cooked, cooled, and diced

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. In a mixer, combine the peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and baking soda and beat for another 2 minutes. Fold in the bacon.
3. Roll into walnut-sized balls, place on the baking sheet, and press with a fork to create a criss-cross pattern. If you like, you can pre-roll them in some sugar.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe via Joy the Baker