Bacon and Peanut Butter Cookies

Love these cookies! Before you skip this one because of the bacon...do yourself a favor and try it! Absolutely delicious and the perfect combination of salty and sweet. 

Ingredients: 


1 pound bacon
2½ cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), cubed and softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter, smooth (not natural)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ cups salted peanuts, finely ground in a food processor
sugar for sprinkling

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange bacon on baking pan and bake for about 20-30 minutes, flipping each piece halfway through cooking. When all fat has been rendered and bacon is crispy, drain strips on paper towels. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Pour rendered grease into a metal bowl and chill it in the refrigerator until cool and solidified. Stir grease occasionally to speed cooling process. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.

Crumble bacon into small pieces, about ¼'' square.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Mix in 8 tablespoons of cooled bacon fat. Add sugars and beat until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in peanut butter until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla. Scrape down sides then, on low speed, mix in dry ingredients. Stir in ground peanuts and bacon until mixed.

Form the dough into golf ball-sized rounds and place them on sheet pan, spaced two inches apart. Dip a fork in water and press tines into the surface of each piece of dough twice to slightly flatten cookie. Sprinkle the cookies with a generous amount of sugar.

Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. The outer edges of cookies should only just begin to turn golden while the center will still look pale. Let cookies cool for 2-3 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: farmflavor.com