Go Ahead And Mix A Savory Meat Into Your Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

That's right, mix some savory meat into your cookie dough. No, we're not talking about slapping some parm chicken or a big hunk of roast beef into your mix. We're referring to a much less divisive meat that remains a reigning champ in salty-sweet food: good ol' bacon. Bakers have used savory bacon to enhance and deepen the flavor profile of their goods since the 1930s, but the popularity boom really only took off in the last decade or so.

If you can hear this delightful flavor combo calling your name, try some of these recipes, starting with this brown butter bacon chocolate chip cookie recipe. It uses melted ingredients to create a crispy outer edge and a decadent, moist interior. Brown butter brings roasted nuttiness, and the bacon salt offsets the sugar and chocolate perfectly. Bacon shortbread, on the other hand, is a bit more subtle. The biscuit itself has a fairly neutral, sweet-leaning flavor profile, meaning you can pair it with savory cheese or decadent frosting, and it would be right at home with either. Bacon grease also mixes perfectly into dough, whether you're baking up a sweet apple pie or hunkering down with a savory hand pie. In short? You can get a lot of mileage from your bacon when baking.

Cooking bacon isn't exactly rocket science, but there are certainly ideal ways to fry up these tasty strips. You need to consider a few factors, like whether or not you'll be using the bacon itself in your final dish. If you are, avoid the tragedy of a flaccid, chewy piece of bacon ruining the texture of your baked good. Use a flour dredge to make your bacon extra crispy instead. Flipping often and on medium-low heat gets you a crunchy slice, whereas high-heat cooking results in floppy and burnt bacon.

Or, you could forego the stovetop entirely and cook your bacon in the oven instead. This splatter-free option keeps your stove clean, reduces your chance of getting a nasty bacon burn, and even eliminates the need to do all that pesky flipping. You can collect the bacon drippings easily once the time is up, and a baked piece of bacon crumbles like a dream. Regardless of what cooking method suits your bacon needs best, try these bacon hacks in your next baking batch and see for yourself how good a bacon chocolate chip cookie can be.