Bacon Bourbon Brownies

I know, right?!? Bacon + Bourbon + Brownies = sounds amazing. Too bad these brownies were a bit disappointing… I wanted to post this recipe because I think it has a TON of potential and should be perfect for the upcoming Superbowl. For whatever reason, when I think of Superbowl food, my mind goes straight to bacon.

I was really excited about these Bacon Bourbon Brownies. I followed Dan’s advice and poured some bourbon directly onto the brownies while they were still warm. The brownies definitely smelled like bourbon as you went to take a bite. The problem was that once you took a bite… They just tasted like a brownie. And a cakey brownie at that.

I was disappointed when I took my first bite, but waited to see what others thought of them. After a few people, including Hubby, tasted them, everyone agreed that they didn’t taste like bacon. If you closed your eyes and took a bite you wouldn’t even guess there was bacon on them. And look at them! There’s a LOT of bacon on there.

Now I am not just going to bash this recipe without some suggestions on how I’d do things differently. The first issue in my book is how tall they are. There’s just too much brownie to bacon there. I took one brownie and cut the bottom off and took a bite. I could actually taste the bacon! To fix that, you could just bake this recipe in a 9×13 pan instead of an 9×9 pan.

My other main issue was the texture of the brownie. I’m biased against cakey brownies, so if you like cakey brownies, you might be happy with this one. But I just felt like a bacon brownie should be more fudgey and gooey. To fix this issue, I’d use my go-to brownie recipe as it’s written and just add the bourbon to the batter and top with bacon and pecans. That would also solve the first issue since those brownies are not very thick. I’d also be sure to pour the bourbon on top while they’re still hot.

I was hoping to make these brownies again before posting them, but I just didn’t have time. If anyone tries these suggestions, please let me know how they turn out!

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Bacon Bourbon Brownies

Yield: 25 brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 pound sliced bacon
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick plus 2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp bourbon
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup bourbon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the paper with vegetable spray.

In a skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, turning once, until crisp, 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and let cool; reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat. Finely chop the bacon.

In a saucepan, combine both chocolates with the butter and stir over very low heat, until melted; scrape into a large bowl. Beat in both sugars with the reserved 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. Beat in the 3 Tbsp of bourbon. Add the eggs and salt and beat until smooth. Sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl and beat until blended.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the bacon and pecans on top. Lightly press bacon and pecans into batter.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until the brownies are set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center; a toothpick inserted into the center should have some batter clinging to it. Immediately pour 1/4 cup bourbon over top of the brownies.

Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool completely. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve.

Recipe from Food in my Beard, originally from Food and Wine

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8 Responses to “Superbowl Dessert Sneak Peak”

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    admin — February 6, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    such a cute idea!

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    Jeanette — February 6, 2010 at 8:51 pm

    You are so creative!

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    Carlos — February 6, 2010 at 8:55 pm

    Woohoo can’t wait for the party!

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    A Scientist in the Kitchen — February 7, 2010 at 7:13 am

    I’m having my first Superbowl Sunday ever, and I can’t wait for the food! Did I say I’m also having my first snow? 🙂

    Gay

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    Sunshine — February 7, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    My sister and I did something similar last night. We got a box of white cake mix, followed the instructions, separated it into 2 bowls, and dyed one bowl a dark blue and the other black. After baking, we dyed a bowl of frosting yellow for the black cupcakes and left the rest white. They look pretty cool, and we can’t wait for the family to see it. Next time, I’m going to try the team logos. Thanks for the good idea.

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    Cookie is my hero! — February 8, 2010 at 12:05 pm

    Wow, let those creative juices flow! I like this idea ALOT :p

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    The Utts — September 6, 2010 at 12:22 am

    What brand of candy melts did you use? I’m having a hard time finding the dark blue. I am wondering if I can take the light blue ones and tint them darker.

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    Jen — September 12, 2010 at 1:00 am

    The Utts – I found the dark blue candy melts at AC Moore about a year ago. I know Wilton doesn’t make dark blue. I found them online as well since I can’t remember what brand they were. Here’s a link to where you can order some online.

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