Banana Bacon Cookies

Man, bacon tastes good with anything. Freaking anything. Banana Bacon? Who'd have thunk it?

Well Libbie Summers did! I actually found a few recipes for Banana Bacon Cookies online, but most of them seemed to be derived from the recipe from her The Whole Hog Cookbook, so I'm crediting her with the idea!

Of course, I have to tweak my cookies ever so slightly, and I like to make smaller batches of items since it's just Mister Man and myself currently. So the recipe below is slightly different than her original (yield 30 cookies), which you can find at the Spoon Fork Bacon blog.

These cookies are very soft and more reminiscent of banana bread than a cookie. So don't be surprised at the texture of the final product. The batter is on the thinner side, but I found that using parchment paper and keeping to a heaping tablespoon of batter for each cookie kept it from spreading out too much while baking. I strongly urge you to use the parchment paper! It makes a big difference in this cookie. Also, the amount of bacon in this recipe almost doesn't seem like enough. Increase it if you're a true bacon lover and want to indulge (we did).

Banana Bacon Cookies

15 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 bananas, mashed (approx. 2/3 cup)

8 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped  - set aside small amount to use as topping

To make the noms:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture, then mix in the mashed bananas. Mix ingredients well. Fold in the bacon.

4. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet approx. 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with bacon pieces.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until slightly browned. Completely cool cookies before storing them in an airtight container. Cookies will keep in the fridge up to 1 week - in pantry up to 2 days.

They are delicious and I think that the light banana flavor compliments the saltiness of the bacon perfectly!

I hope you get a chance to try the recipe and like it as much as we do.

'til next time, my friends... ♥