Salty, smoky, and chocolatey, these cookies transform the usual chocolate chip cookie into a decadent treat for adults. Mixing the bold smokiness of bourbon, the crisp saltiness of bacon, and the smooth but bitter taste of dark chocolate, these bourbon bacon chocolate chip cookies will wow your taste buds and transform your childhood favorite into your new adulthood favorite.
What’s something that can make a chocolate chip cookie even better? Bourbon. What’s something that can make a bourbon infused cookie even better? Bacon! It really does make everything taste better. I would say this a man’s man cookie, but I know plenty of women that appreciate a good bourbon as well, and bacon is universal.
Starting with my recipe on chewy chocolate chip cookies, I slightly modified them to incorporate bacon and bourbon. These cookies got rave reviews from everyone at work, so I’d say it’s a popular combination of flavors.
Ingredients for Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bacon – A 1 pound (16-oz) package of thick-cut bacon. Thick-cut works best here since you’ll be chopping it up into pieces and baking it in the cookies for a second cook. Regular bacon can overcook, and you don’t want to undercook it and add limp bacon to the cookies.
Flour – All-purpose flour is best for the cookies.
Baking Soda & Powder – A little leavening boost to keep the cookies from being flat.
Cornstarch – Just a little bit to help absorb the extra liquid without adding more gluten. Also helps keep the cookies tender.
Salt – A little table salt in the batter, with some course sea salt on the finished cookie. If you have some, smoked sea salt can add another level of flavor to the finished cookie as well.
Butter & Bacon Grease – Replacing a little bit of the unsalted butter with bacon grease helps to boost the bacon-y flavoring in the cookies.
Sugar – A mix of white and dark brown sugar to sweeten the cookies. The dark brown sugar also enhances the flavor and gives the baking soda a boost. Light brown sugar is fine to use as well.
Eggs – One egg and one egg yolk to keep the cookies moist and chewy.
Vanilla – A splash of extract enhances all the flavors.
Chocolate Chips – Regular semi-sweet work as well, but dark chocolate plays off the saltiness of the bacon even better.
Bourbon – As always when cooking with alcohol, don’t use something so dirt cheap you would never actually drink it yourself. Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, and Woodford Reserve are all great options, if a little pricey. For a decent call brand that’s not as pricey, you could also try Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, or Jack Daniels (yes, technically a Tennessee whiskey, but works well in food).
How to Make Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
I make this cookie dough the same way I make my chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, meaning you can mix this by hand and don’t have to break out the stand-mixer or hand-mixer.
Start by cooking the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon in batches and set aside on a paper towel lined plate until cool enough to handle. Once you’re finished cooking the bacon, strain about a ¼ cup worth of the bacon grease into a heatproof bowl and place in the refrigerator until cool, at least 5-10 minutes.
Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch in a mixing bowl and whisk until fully combined. Set aside.
Microwave the butter until melted, starting with 30 seconds, and working in 20 second intervals until just melted (if it feels too hot, set in the fridge for a few minutes to cool). In another mixing bowl, add the melted butter, bacon grease, white sugar, brown sugar, bourbon, and vanilla and stir to combine until the sugars look mostly incorporated. Add the egg, then the egg yolk, stirring between each addition. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes. This gives the sugars time to dissolve more and flavors to build.
While the wet mixture rests, coarsely chop the bacon. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, about ⅓ at a time, and mixing until combined each time. Now fold in the chocolate chips and the crumbled bacon, reserving a little of each for topping the cookies if you wish. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C and remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator.
Scoop heaping 1 tablespoon balls of dough and place on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Place into the heated oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, removing when the cookie edges just start to brown. Sprinkle with some sea salt and let rest on the baking sheet 4-5 minutes until set enough to move to a cooling rack.
How to Store Bourbon Bacon Cookies
Covered, the cookies will last at least 4-5 days at room temperature.
If you wish to freeze them, wait for them to cool completely and place in an airtight container and move to the freezer. They should last about 2 months before they begin losing flavor.
📋 Recipe
Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ cup reserved bacon grease
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 10 ounces dark chocolate chips
- Sea salt for garnishing, optional
Directions
- Start by cooking the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. You want crispy bacon that’s easy to chop up, so cook until it’s crispy and not limp at all. Cook the bacon in batches and set aside on a paper towel lined plate until cool enough to handle. Once you’re finished cooking the bacon, strain about a ¼ cup worth of the bacon grease into a heatproof bowl and place in the refrigerator until cool, at least 5-10 minutes.
- Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch in a mixing bowl and whisk until fully combined. Set aside.
- Microwave the butter until melted, starting with 30 seconds, and working in 20 second intervals until just melted (if it feels too hot, set in the fridge for a few minutes to cool). In another mixing bowl, add the melted butter, bacon grease, white sugar, brown sugar, bourbon, and vanilla and stir to combine until the sugars look mostly incorporated. Add the egg, then the egg yolk, stirring between each addition. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes. This gives the sugars time to dissolve more and flavors to build.
- While the wet mixture rests, coarsely chop the bacon into roughly ¼” -½” pieces. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, about ⅓ at a time, and mixing until combined each time. Now fold in the chocolate chips and the crumbled bacon, reserving a little of each for topping the cookies if you wish. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C and remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator.
- Scoop heaping 1 tablespoon balls of dough and place on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. If you reserved some bacon and chocolate chips, push them into the top of the cookies now. Place into the heated oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, removing when the cookie edges just start to brown. Sprinkle with some sea salt and let rest on the baking sheet 4-5 minutes until set enough to move to a cooling rack.
Equipment Used
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Amal says
I made two separate batches; one choc chips and unbleached flour, and one with GF flour and peanut butter chips. I tweaked the recipe ever so slightly. I candied the bacon with brown sugar and pepper flakes. I used the rendered fat from both brown sugar cured, and cracked pepper bacon. For added smoke I used two small slices of European bacon as well. And rather than Bourbon, I used a combination of peanut butter and banana whiskey. IMO, the liquor could be omitted if you don't have it on hand or don't cook/bake with it. These would still be delicious.
Both batches turned out excellent 🤌🏽 I will absolutely keep this recipe in my arsenal. It was easy to assemble and all came together as expected. I think next time I would add a bit more bacon fat and less butter for more of that bacon essence. And I would up the moisture content for GF next round. Brilliant recipe 👍🏽 Thanks for sharing. 🥰
Chris says
Glad to hear how much you enjoyed the cookies! I like the idea of peanut butter chips and peanut butter whiskey too; I'll have to try that as a spin sometime. GF flour can definitely be tricky when swapping it for regular flour and can take a little trial and error. I'll try and make some specifically GF recipes for people when I have the chance.
Dan says
This twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie is absolutely fantastic. This may be my favorite new cookie. The flavor as well as the texture is magnificent.