Revisiting the Famous Bacon Brownies
So while we’re talking about healthy desserts and all natural sweeteners, it would only be appropriate to revisit my famous salted caramel bacon brownies.
Not because these are remotely healthy or all naturally sweetened, but because we’re all about balance here at the Messy Kitchen.
What actually prompted me to revisit this old indulgent friend here on the blog was my fear of losing the recipe. I was set on making a batch this year for my office’s annual holiday lunch. Our holiday lunch is a celebration of foods that cause your pants not to fit, always featuring multiple crock pots and dips that you probably shouldn’t ask what’s in before going back for seconds. Bacon salted caramel brownies were a natural addition.
But when I revisited my nearly three-year old post on these babies, I found that not only did I not include the recipe, but the recipe I linked to was no longer active. I feared that the bacon brownies had been lost forever! Luckily, like those not so flattering pictures from your college spring break, nothing on the Internet is lost forever. A quick google search did the trick. To avoid a similar panic next time I simply must have bacon brownies, I decided it was only wise to have the recipe on hand right here in the Messy Kitchen!
Bacon Salted-Caramel Brownies
From Savour Fare
- 4 slices bacon
- ½ cup heavy creamv
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 T unsalted butte
For the Brownies:
- 8 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- In a small saucepan, fry bacon until crisp. You may want to cut the strips in half. Set bacon aside, reserving the bacon grease in the pan. Add cream to hot pan and let cool. Meanwhile, crumble or chop finely the bacon.
- In a larger pan, heat the sugar over high heat until the mixture is liquid and a deep amber color, careful not to allow it to burn. Add the butter and the cooled bacon cream all at once and stir until the butter is melted. Add the chopped bacon and let the mixture cool thoroughly.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil, covering the bottom and sides of the pan. Grease the foil with butter or cooking spray.
- In a large microwaveable bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate together in the microwave. Start with one minute and stir thoroughly, then microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each bout of nuking, until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the butter. Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth, then add in the eggs, sugar, vanilla and finally the flour. Stir only until combined.
- Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Then drop about a third of the bacon caramel, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter in the pan. It doesn’t have to cover the whole batter, but should be in splotches. Spread the remaining brownie batter over the top, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the brownies and swirl.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the brownie is set. Allow to cool completely before cutting. (After a late night at work, I ended up making these the morning of our party. I didn’t have time to let them cool completely, and ended up with a bit of a mess and some not so pretty brownies on hand! Luckily they still taste delicious.)
