#29. Baller Breakfast Cookies

While watching the Chef's Table episode on Milk Bar, I had a revelation.

Well, technically, it was Christina Tosi's revelation that she could be happy baking cookies every day for the rest of her life.  

I had a "me, too" moment but in a good way.

While I don't expect to reach even close to the level of success achieved by such a technical culinary genius as Tosi, I know I have some tricks up my sleeve with regards to creative cookies. And if I have fun while experimenting and satisfy the sweet tooths of those near and dear to me, then I win.

Although incorporating bacon into chocolate chip cookies is not novel, I think its inclusion generally seems like a half-baked (hah!) manifestation of a larger concept. Of course, people eat bacon by itself at all times of the day, but its origin is as a breakfast food, which led me (ah hah!) to realize my greater concept for a cookie.  This first take on a gourmet breakfast cookie employs some iconic dishes common to that matutinal meal like waffles, maple syrup, and, of course, bacon. 

And chocolate chips, natch, because, after all, this is a cookie.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (softened)

• 1 cup maple syrup (Grade A is preferable)]

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 cups flour

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup chopped cooked, crispy bacon (try for chunks, not bits)

• 1/2 cup chopped toasted waffles (use frozen at your peril!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, maple syrup, and egg.

3. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Gradually beat into wet mixture.

4. Using a spatula and some strong arm muscles, incorporate chocolate chips, bacon chunks, and waffle pieces into batter. It will be thick and dense.

5. Bake for 12 minutes for ooey-gooey cookies; 16 minutes for crispy cookies.

Superior people, btw, prefer the former. 

#3. Salted Caramel Maple Syrup Cookies

A few months ago I was contacted by the lovely crew at the Maple Guild, a Vermont-based, locally-owned harvester of maple syrup and manufacturer of maple syrup products, including water, vinegar, and cream. They were kind enough to gift me samples for a review in Houstonia and I have wanted since then to experiment using their syrups in baking

But thus far I've only been pouring a shit ton of the stuff on my flapjacks. 

Feeling slightly more ambitious this weekend, I decide to make a modified version of this recipe for maple syrup drop cookies using not the Maple Guild's "regular" but rather their Salted Caramel infused version. I know--Iivin' on the edge.

As you can see from the picture, the cookies turned out a bit flat. Not the fault of the recipe, mind you, but rather the cook, for she may have only added half the recommended amount of baking soda because she was too busy watching up on RHNYC. The cookies were still very chewy and delicious, with a distinct salty inflection I adored.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 cup salted caramel maple syrup

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 4 cups flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda (DON'T FORGET)

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar; add egg, maple syrup and vanilla until well blended.

3. Whisk together flour and baking soda. Add this mixture to creamed mixture and combine thoroughly.

4. Using an ice cream scoop (or your own paws), shape into one-inch balls and place on cookie sheets, evenly spaced.

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes.