Just J.Faye

Hiking & Other Adventures

Bacon Nut Bourbon Brownies

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After a few weeks of posting recipes for healthier treats (like almond butter trail mix cookies, triple berry almond oat bars, and coconut cashew butter) I decided to go the opposite direction.

I made brownies.

And I put bacon in them. And then I added a lot of nuts and a little bit of bourbon.

I’m not upset with the situation. These bacon nut bourbon brownies are totally worth it.

bacon nut bourbon brownies

The base of the brownie itself is amazing. They bake up nice and thick with just the right texture ranging somewhere between gooey and cakey. With three types of chocolate – bittersweet, unsweetened, and cocoa powder – they aren’t too chocolatey or too tooth-achingly sweet. They are juuuuuust right. Plus, these have that little crust on top that is just perfect. This will be my new go-to brownie base going forward.

bacon nut bourbon brownies

Then there are the nuts. Nuts always belong in brownies, so I feel like I don’t need to explain this further.

But the bourbon and bacon? That one I’ll explain.

Explanation: bourbon and bacon belong in everything.

I kid.

(But really I’m not kidding)

bacon nut bourbon brownies

To be honest, I added the bacon because I had a half-full (optimist!) package of bacon in my fridge leftover from another recipe. I didn’t know what to use it for, because I already had my lunches and dinners planned for the rest of the week. I needed to use it for something and I happened to be making brownies to bring to dinner at a friend’s house, so I just decided to throw bacon into the batter.

And since I was already trashing these brownies up by adding bacon, I figured what the heck, might as well add bourbon.

Does that make sense?

bacon nut bourbon brownies

I’ll tell you this: no one complained about it. I don’t think you would either.

bacon nut bourbon brownies

And remember when I put bacon in scotcheroos? Yeah, those were good too.

Bacon Nut Bourbon Brownies
 
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These brownies are a little bit gooey, but a little bit cakey. They are a little bit sweet, but a little bit salty. They have bourbon, bacon, and lots of nuts. What's not to love?!
Serves: 9 brownies
Ingredients
  • 6-8 slices bacon
  • ½ cup butter
  • 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
  • 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons bourbon
  • ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon course sea salt, plus extra for topping
  • ¾ cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, peanuts, and pecans)
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the brownies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil.
  2. Fry the bacon in a pan until crisp, a few minutes on each side. Chop into small pieces then set aside to cool.
  3. Melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler (a saucepan over a larger saucepan of boiling water) or in the microwave.
  4. Stir in the cocoa powder.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon until thoroughly combined. The sugar should be completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
  6. Whisk in the chocolate mixture.
  7. Stir in the flour and sea salt.
  8. Fold in ¾ of the bacon and chopped nuts.
  9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with remaining bacon, nuts, and a little bit of sea salt.
  10. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake! Brownies can be slightly underdone and gooey.
  11. Let them cool completely before removing from the pan. Cut into 9 large (or 16 small) brownies. Enjoy!

Now I’m off to go do my last long run before Grandma’s Marathon, which is next Saturday! *insert panic attack * But afterwards I’m headed to go explore Stillwater with some friends. I’ll post Instagrams and take notes and tell you about it later. Enjoy your Saturday! I hope you go for a nice, long walk (or run) and then eat some brownies.

bacon nut bourbon brownies

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Bacon Scotcheroos

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On Wednesday night I met my friends for a bacon themed dinner. Yeah, BACON THEMED. It was amazing. My contribution: bacon scotcheroos.

bacon scotcheroos About a year and a half ago two of my friends and I started getting together for themed dinners. The host chooses the theme and prepares the main course. The other two bring an appropriate appetizer/dessert/drink to fit. Our dinners have ranged from Indian to pizza to crockpot to Brazilian to picnic to paleo to seafood.

I don’t know how it took us so long to get to bacon, but it happened. A bacon avocado salad followed by bacon wrapped chicken thighs and then rounded out by these bacon scotcheroos. Yeah. Delicious.

These dinners, I love them. We catch up on each other’s lives. Natalie and I will say something completely random in unison. Senthil will look at us like we are crazy – sometimes it’s hard to tell if he loves or hates us. One time (after a bottle of wine or two) we booked a trip to Atlanta for the Midtown Music Festival. Another time (after a caipirinha or two) we bought concert tickets to Phantogram. Then there was that time (after a vodka soda or two) we “performed” La Bamba over and over again on Rockband. This time we drank a lot of water, discussed Bonnaroo & other music festivals, and called dibs on a trip to India. Our next dinner is French themed. Who knows what will happen there.

bacon scotcheroos Anyways, back to bacon scotcheroos. What you really care about here.

For those of you unfamiliar (who are you?!), scotcheroos are similar to rice krispie bars, but instead of marshmallows they are held together with a mix of peanut butter, Karo syrup, and sugar. Then they are topped with chocolate and butterscotch, so you are left with a sweet, crunchy, chewy bar of deliciousness.

To fit the bacon theme and because there just wasn’t enough calories in the original version of these bars, I added bacon to the rice krispies mixture and sprinkled some sea salt on top. This savory addition helps cut some of the sweetness and also makes them extra delicious. I mean… bacon, chocolate, peanut butter. Triple win.

bacon scotcheroos What you need to do is bake that bacon. Eat one slice, then cut the rest into tiny pieces. Mix together the Karo syrup and brown sugar until it boils. Stir in some chunky peanut butter until it’s melted. Then add in the bacon bits and rice krispies. Press this mixture into a greased pan. I give you permission to taste test here.

Now go melt some chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Pour it over the rice krispies and top with sprinkles of sea salt. Hide the pan somewhere until it sets. Then cut them up and give them to all your friends. Eat one or two and don’t even feel bad about it. But then make sure to workout extra hard later.

bacon scotcheroos These bars are super quick and simple to make. They freeze well. They transport easy. And they taste amazing. I don’t know what else I can say to convince you to try them, except… bacon.

bacon scotcheroos

Bacon Scotcheroos
 
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Adding bacon into classic scotcheroos is just wonderful. These bars are simple treat to put together. Plus, they have bacon, peanut butter, and chocolate. Triple win.
Serves: 20
Ingredients
  • 12oz package thick-cut bacon
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup light Karo syrup
  • 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 6 cups rice krispies
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips
  • Sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Grease a 9x12 cake pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil.
  2. Spread the bacon out between the foil-lined pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until the bacon is baked to your liking. Chop into pieces and set aside.
  3. In a large saucepan, add the brown sugar and Karo syrup. Stir over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Stir in the peanut butter until it melts.
  5. Stir in the bacon pieces and rice krispies.
  6. Press mixture into the pan. Set aside.
  7. In a saucepan (it can be the same one as before), add the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Stir on low-medium until melted. This can also be done in the microwave.
  8. Pour the melted chocolate/butterscotch over the rice kripies. Add sprinkles of sea salt.
  9. Cover and set aside until the chocolate has set.
  10. Cut into bar. Serve. Enjoy.

Besides talking about these amazing bacon scotcheroos, I also want to quickly mention a very special cake for a very special person. This cake has been years in the making. It stems from a random and weird conversation at Taco Bell in the fall of 2006, then became an idea at Public Kitchen + Bar this January, and then a reality last night.

Only for one of my very best friends would I ever make a cake in the shape of a tampon that says “Happy Menarche”.

happy birthday! Kenny, happy 28th birthday, you are amazing. Megan and Danielle, I’m glad we dreamed up this cake. Kelly, Zach, Alana, Scott, Scott, Molly, Bethany, Andrew, Chris, and Corey, thank you for eating the cake (this amazing red velvet recipe) despite its shape.

From bacon dinners to tampon cakes, I truly am friends with the greatest people.

PS- after eating tacos and tampon cake we went to see WITS with Brandi Carlile and Eric Stonestreet (AKA Cam from Modern Family). Amazing. Please go listen to WITS, then listen to all the Brandi Carlile songs, and then watch every episode of Modern Family if you haven’t already.

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