Bacon fat for the WIN!

[GLC1968]

I had to share this somewhere. We have a wellness initiative going on at work. As a part of it, we had a healthy recipe cook-off today at work. There were four categories: no sugar, low fat, vegan/vegetarian and paleo. I entered my newly created Chocolate Chip Pecan cookies into the paleo category.

They are grain-free, very low sugar (raw honey) and made with extra dark chocolate chips, pecans, butter and bacon fat. Not only did I win the paleo category, but everyone told me that my cookies were better than all the other entries even in the other categories!

I told the guy next to me that was because I was the only one who used butter and bacon fat. How could I lose? :p

[Hi Ho Silver]

Do we have to beg? Please, please give us the recipe! (I am a cookieholic, and I have not reached the recovery stage yet.)

[zoom-zoom]

OMG, you have NO idea what a bacon addict I am (people are forever posting bacon-related items on my FB wall, because of it...I still have to try that bacon sundae at BK)...I need this recipe!!!

[solobiker]

Sounds very good to me!! Please share:p

[Trek420]

BACON please. yum :)

[malkin]

Yum!

oh, and congratulations!

[westtexas]

Bacon FTW!!

I made a recipe similar to that once - it was a bacon/chocolate chip cookie recipe using almond flour. You candy the bacon first by baking it after drenching it in maple syrup. Seriously delicious. I made myself sick eating too many at once haha.

As we all know from my bike lust post I have serious self-control issues when it comes to awesome things.

[zoom-zoom]

As we all know from my bike lust post I have serious self-control issues when it comes to awesome things.

You say that like it's a bad thing! :p

[Owlie]

I love bacon. I cook greens in the drippings, but I never thought of using bacon fat for baking.

[zoom-zoom]

I love bacon. I cook greens in the drippings, but I never thought of using bacon fat for baking.

A friend of mine owns a bakery and made chocolate bacon coffee cupcakes last Fall. She included a bit of bacon drippings in the batter, plus bacon pieces. They were TO DIE FOR!

[SallyRides]

BACON makes everything taste the best it can taste!! Ok- maybe not everything, but lots and lots of food! :D Congrats on your win.

SR

[lovelygamer]

I love bacon. I cook greens in the drippings, but I never thought of using bacon fat for baking.

I wish I did this. How do you keep the drippings prepared? I have never known what to do. We only cook bacon once every few months in my house but I cook greens every week. Can I store drippings or is that not safe?

[malkin]

Keep the drippings in a jar in the fridge.

[westtexas]

Keep the drippings in a jar in the fridge.

And then get a big dollop out and use like any other cooking fat.

Also good on eggs. That's what I'm having for breakfast.

[lovelygamer]

Oh, thank you! I had no idea and always wondered. :) I will totally do this next time.:o I loveeeeeeeeeeeee greens but need to add a little something now and then.

[OakLeaf]

I don't eat pork, but when I make chicken stock, I recover the fat and store it in the freezer. Then I'll use it for cooking fat when I want that chicken flavor.

[emily_in_nc]

Those cookies sound SO GOOD, GLC. I'd be interested to know what is in 'em in place of the "grain"!

[GLC1968]

Sorry for the delay, you guys. I have been without internet for awhile!

Here is the recipe:

Paleo Treat: Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Ingredients –
5 oz almond flour (best to measure by weight, not volume)
¼ t baking soda
¼ t sea salt
2 T pastured butter, melted
2 T bacon fat, melted
3 T raw local honey
2 t water
1 t vanilla
1/3 cup extra dark chocolate chips (I used Guittard Extra Dark)
1/3 cup raw pecans, chopped

Directions -
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Melt butter and bacon fat until liquid. With a whisk, mix honey, water and vanilla in with melted fats. Combine wet ingredients with dry and mix until all almond flour is incorporated. Mix in chips and nuts.

Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly flatten with your hand (they don’t spread much when baking). Bake at 325F for 8 – 12 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool slightly before removing from baking sheet to cooling rack.

Makes about 18 cookies.


We eat quite a bit of bacon and we keep all the fat so we have a ton. I don't know what prompted me to add it to this recipe, but it was a huge success! We cook a ton of stuff in it from eggs to asparagus to kale... It also works really well to get a dog to take his pills. ;)

My next attempt will be using it to make mayo but I haven't tried that just yet.

[Owlie]

Ooh. Think they'd taste okay with milk or semi-sweet chips? (I cannot stand dark chocolate.)

[GLC1968]

Yes, they'd probably work with a sweeter chip. The whole cookie might be sweeter, but with the slight saltiness of the bacon fat, that might be extra delicious!