Thursday, January 15, 2009
Bacon-N-Eggs Cookies
Happy New Year, everybody! With the Central Pennsylvania weather being so cold, I have NO problem turning on the oven. Frequently.
Over the holidays, I started to get a little sick of the standard, sweet-and-gooey baked goods that everybody gave and received. So I baked several batches of my Bacon-N-Eggs cookies to give away to friends and family. Let me warn you: they're NOT your typical cookie.
=2 to 4 slices slab bacon (or 3 to 4 slices thin bacon)
=2 cups all-purpose flour
=1 cup (about 4 ounces by weight) shredded cheddar
=1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, at room temperature
=1 whole egg
=2 teaspoons baking powder
=1 egg yolk
=2 tablespoons heavy cream
=1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
=1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more, to taste)
=small pinch salt
Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, until quite crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain and cool. When bacon is cooled, crumble into small bits.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cheddar, butter, whole egg, baking powder, salt, pepper and heavy cream. Beat until just combined. At this point, if you're using an electric mixer, the motor will begin to strain. Add the bacon pieces to the bowl, and using your hands, knead the dough until everything is well-incorporated.
Roll the dough into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap log in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, to allow dough to firm up.
When the dough is firm, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg yolk with Worcestershire. Cut dough into disks, between 1/4 and 3/8 inch thick, and arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment (or greased). Brush tops of cookies with egg yolk/Worcestershire mixture. Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate cookie sheet 180 degrees and bake an additional 8 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes before removing.
