Easy Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
If you have a love of bacon and chewy chocolate chip cookies, this unique chocolate chip cookie recipe is the best of both worlds. I promise you, this isn’t the first bacon chocolate chip cookie recipe on the internet, nor will it be the last. Prepare for your taste buds to be amazed because as the saltiness of crisp bacon beautifully complements the rich decadence of dark chocolate, sweet butterscotch chips, and flaky sea salt in these flavor-loaded bacon chocolate chip cookies. The salty bacon and bittersweet dark chocolate in these cookies create a heavenly umami taste that is not only unique but unforgettable. The edges of these thin cookies are slightly crisp, the inside is soft, dense, and chewy. Since the bacon on the top is minced finely, its texture doesn’t interrupt the cookie. And the bacon and the flake salt on top give a nice tiny crunch. If you are looking for something beyond just an ordinary classic chocolate chip cookie to serve all the favorite dads in your life on Father’s Day, try these extraordinary cookies. They are sure to “bring home the bacon” or at least the topic of conversation of your next family get-together or celebration. And let’s face it, bacon really does make everything better.
Why You Will Love These Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies
If you’re sitting there thinking, “bacon … in cookies?” let me share all the reasons why this recipe rocks.
Add-Ins Galore: These cookies are perfect for anyone who loves all the add-ins more than the cookie part itself, and are chock full of the good stuff!
Sweet and salty combination: The saltiness of the bacon with the sweetness of the chocolate chip cookie dough, combined with that extra pop of sea salt on top really does create the best flavor profile. Soft and chewy: If thin ooey-gooey cookies with tons of melted chocolate are your first love, these soft and chewy cookies will be a dream come true. Loaded and flavorful: If salty bacon and chocolate didn’t already draw you in, add to the mix sweet butterscotch and you have one loaded cookie! Easy to make: Mix, scoop, and bake! These cookies are ready in under an hour with no chill time required.
Ingredients in Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you opened a package of bacon for breakfast but are unsure what to do with the remaining uncooked portion, these bacon cookies are the answer! All ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery store and are common fridge and pantry items including:
Cooked and finely chopped bacon Salted butter (or unsalted butter if you prefer a less salty cookie) Packed dark brown sugar Large egg Pure vanilla extract All-purpose flour Baking soda Baking powder Fine table salt Chopped dark chocolate bar Butterscotch chips Sea salt flakes, for garnish
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies
Remember to scroll all the way down to the actual recipe card for full details! Step 1: Prepare your oven for baking the cookie recipe by preheating it to 350°F and then line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Step 2: Prep your ingredients by chopping six pieces of your bacon into small pieces that are roughly the size of a chocolate chip. Mince the remaining two pieces of bacon to use for topping your cookies. Step 3: Roughly chop your dark chocolate bar and butterscotch chips. Step 4: In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until creamy and light in color. Step 5: To the wet mixture add your dry ingredients and then mix until fully combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Step 6: Gently fold in your butterscotch chips, chopped chocolate bar, and the large pieces of your chopped cooked bacon pieces. Step 7: Using a medium cookie scoop, form the dough into balls that are roughly 2-3 Tablespoons in size. Step 8: Roll balls in the remaining chopped chocolate bar pieces and place them on prepared baking sheets. Step 9: Bake cookies until the edges are a light golden brown color. Step 10: Remove the pan from the oven, tap the sides of the cookie sheet on the countertop to settle the cookies. Step 11: Immediately sprinkle the top of each cookie with the remaining diced bacon pieces and flaked sea salt. Step 12: Transfer to a wire rack to cool and set fully before digging into your bacon grease chocolate chip cookies.
What Kind of Bacon Should I Use for Cookies?
I prefer to use regular cut bacon, not the thick stuff. On its own, this bacon comes with an already sweet and salty combination and the maple flavor will only add to these bacon cookies. Give it a try and let me know what you think! I actually feel like the cheap thin store-brand bacon works very well. That’s because thin bacon gives all the flavor without a clunky, tough texture.
Do I Have to Add Bacon?
The point of these cookies is to have, well, bacon in them. However, if you can’t get past the idea of cookies + bacon, it’s fine, we can still be friends. I know that these aren’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Just omit the bacon and make the rest of the recipe as written.
Storing Leftover Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies
This bacon chocolate chip cookies recipe yields 12 large cookies which is great since they are best consumed within a day or two. If you have leftover cookies, cool them completely then store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. You could also store the cookies in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for 4 to 6 weeks. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or on the countertop at room temperature for a few hours and enjoy.
Expert Tips for the Best Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cooking your bacon: While I love this air fryer twisted bacon, the standard stove top method works best for preparing your bacon. Cook your bacon in a large frying pan on medium heat until the bacon is crispy. Absorb excess grease with paper towels, cool, and then chop into pieces. Bacon grease: Stir in a few tablespoons of solidified bacon fat to the creamed butter mixture to amplify even more bacon taste. Bacon fat chocolate chip cookies sound strange, but taste delicious! Bourbon: For bourbon bacon chocolate chip cookies, add 2 to 3 tablespoons bourbon to your mixing bowl. The flavor and aroma will be out of this world. Don’t worry though the alcohol bakes out! Add an additional 1 tablespoon flour if your dough is a bit moist from the addition of the bourbon. Spread: These cookies do spread a bit so placing them a few inches apart on the baking sheet is advised so you don’t end up with one big glob of cookie. The parchment paper or using a silicone baking mat will also help prevent overspreading. To serve: Try these with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream or make the ultimate ice cream sandwich with them! For a dangerously sinful dessert, try these bacon chocolate chip cookies with my salted caramel bourbon ice cream.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes:
Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies — Soft chocolate chip cookies packed with chocolate chips and crunchy pretzels!! Salty-and-sweet all in one!! However, if you are a person who is salt sensitive, trying to watch your salt, or you’re not a salty-and-sweet desserts person, consider the following: -Use bacon you know isn’t super salty -Rather than using salted butter, use unsalted butter -Omit the fine table salt in the cookie dough -Omit the flaky sea salt garnish Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies – You won’t miss the butter in these olive oil chocolate chip cookies!! They’re soft and chewy, loaded with chocolate, and have a unique flavor from the olive oil but it’s not overpowering! The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, chewy, loaded with chocolate, and they turn out perfectly every time! Totally irresistible!! Sea Salt Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies – Super soft, perfectly chewy, SALTY-AND-SWEET chocolate chip pecan cookies that are AMAZING!! An EASY, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe!! The Best M&M’s Cookies — These bakery-style M&M’s cookies are soft, chewy, buttery, and LOADED with M&M’s and chocolate chips. No one can resist these cookies! One-Bowl, No-Mixer, No-Chill, Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie For One — An incredibly FAST and EASY recipe that produces ONE extra-large soft and chewy cookie that’s loaded with chocolate!! One bowl to wash, no mixer, and no waiting!!
