It’s pretty widely known that Elvis Presley was quite fond of unusual food combinations, peanut butter and banana sandwiches being one often attributed to him. What I didn’t know until recently was that he also liked to add bacon to the mix. Bacon + banana + peanut butter apparently added up to pure bliss and he enjoyed them throughout his short life. Then again, that’s probably a part of why he had a short life. Hmmm…
I’m not quite so fond of bananas, to be honest, so I think I’ll be skipping this version of the pb&j we all so love, but I can get behind peanut butter and bacon. (You had to know there’d be a follow-up bacon story after yesterday… 😉 )
Some time ago, I came across a recipe for peanut butter and bacon cookies. I truly meant to make them but life got in the way–as well as many other fabulous recipes–and before I knew it, a year had passed without the meeting of these two unlikely lovebirds in my kitchen. Luckily, I had a hankering for candied bacon yesterday–and some extra strips that I managed to chop up and stash in the fridge before my willpower succumbed to bacon’s beckoning call. That evil little beastie!
Mine is different from the recipes I’ve seen before because I started with candied bacon. (If you don’t know how to do this, refer back to yesterday’s post for more info.) As a result, I reduced the sugar in the recipe. Otherwise, it’s pretty easy. No flour makes it gluten-free, too, if you’re concerned about that. We need all the help we can get in justifying cookies, don’t we? 🙂
Peanut Butter & Bacon Cookies
adapted from Joy the Baker
- 1 cup creamy all-natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 6 slices of candied bacon, chopped
- raw sugar for rolling
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper (or use a nonstick cookie sheet).
Cream the peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beating thoroughly. Add the baking soda. Remove from mixer and stir in the chopped candied bacon.
Scoop out dough and roll between your hands into balls. Roll in the raw sugar til lightly coated, then place on cookie sheet. Press down with a fork in criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let sit on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen, depending on the size of your balls you make them.