So Much To Make: BACON

Showing posts with label BACON. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2014

Caramel Chocolate Bacon Maple Bars

I had to make a late-night run to the grocery store on Saturday night. We were out of milk, and my family doesn't think they can survive a Sunday morning without milk. I don't know what got into me, but when I saw Rolos, a maple cookie mix, and remembered the bacon I had bought earlier in the week at home, I decided to make this treat.

I made my first batch into cookies. They turned out very, very good, and I photographed them to put here on the blog. We gave a bunch of them away to friends, so I told my poor, neglected family I'd make another batch. I was sick of being in the kitchen by this time, so I made this batch into bars. The bars were INCREDIBLE. A superior creature. The way this recipe was meant to be baked.

See that pocket of caramel there on the upper right side of the bar. Mmmm... The caramel in Rolos doesn't get too runny, but it is spreadable when heated. And it sets up well as it cools. Perfect.

Bacon looks more and more normal on there the longer you look. :)

Caramel Chocolate Bacon Maple Bars

Makes one 9x13 inch pan

Ingredients:

1.5 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons maple extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

30 Rolos, unwrapped and cut in half

6 pieces of bacon, cooked and torn/cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray or parchment paper.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. I used my KitchenAid with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and extracts and beat well.

3. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the wet mixture. Stir well.

4. Press evenly into prepared dish (it will be thick). Be sure to press it all the way to the corners. *Cold water on your fingers will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you spread it in the dish.

5. Place in center of oven and bake 15 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven, place halved Rolos all over the top of the bars, and return to oven for 2 minutes.

7. Spread the melted Rolos over the bars. Sprinkle evenly with bacon, pressing pieces gently into the melted chocolate/caramel.

8. Cool and cut into bars.

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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Mango Pecan Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

This salad is incredible: orange glazed pecans, fresh mango and crisp bacon tossed with romaine and a light, citrus vinaigrette. This is some serious salad.

Here are your main ingredients. The orange glazed pecans are a delicacy all by themselves. Be careful not to nibble on too many--they're for the salad!

Maple Pecan Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1 medium head of Romaine lettuce, shredded

2 cups fresh mango, cubed

1 cup Orange Glazed Pecans (recipe below)

6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

1/3 cup Orange Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe below)

Directions:

Toss lettuce, mango, pecans, and bacon in a large salad bowl. Mix in dressing right before serving.

Orange Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients:

1/8 cup salad oil (I used avocado oil; canola or other mild-flavored oil would work)

1/8 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 medium orange)

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar

Directions:

Whisk together until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Orange Glazed Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup pecan halves

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon water

Instructions:

In a small microwave-safe dish, melt butter in microwave (about 20 sec). Stir in remaining ingredients and microwave on high 90 seconds, stirring halfway through. Spread on wax paper to cool.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Father's Day is this Sunday, which naturally makes me think of bacon. So I decided to take action.

Dates are starting to show up in the produce department. I found mine at Costco last week. And I bought their big brick of Raskas Cream Cheese (to use in another recipe, but it is a BIG brick). It is THE BEST cream cheese I've had. I also had some cashews leftover from my trailmix recipe. Adding some thick-cut bacon and honey to the mix, and I was ready to rock.

Pit the dates. Make a thin slice lengthwise to open, then the pit is pretty loose in there. Pull out each pit and discard it.

Next, put a 1-2 teaspoon slab (depending on the size of the date) of cream cheese in each opened date. Then push a cashew into the cream cheese on each one.

Now pre-cook the bacon a bit by placing it between a couple of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Here is the bacon after the pre-cook step. It is not crispy at all. It should be just starting to curl up at the ends.

Cut the strips of bacon into halves or thirds. I did mostly halves, but thirds for some of my skinnier dates. It isn't an exact science. Wrap the dates in the bacon and secure through the middle with a toothpick.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can skip the parchment, but I recommend it if you have it. Makes clean-up much easier.

Put a squirt of honey on each bacon-date roll. This glaze is SO yummy when it bakes.

Bake for 7 minutes at 450°. Turn over each one and return to the oven to bake 5-7 minutes more, until crispy on the edges.

Tastes divine. And has a fair amount of redeeming value--that's whole fruit in there...whole milk in the cheese... a whole nut... and a whole bunch of yummy.

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