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!
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
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Wow, you’re going to end up with a whole lotta bars by the end of the week 😀
Yum! Love this recipe 🙂
http://www.brisbanebaker.blogspot.com
I love when ingredients don’t sound like they would be good, but come together in an amazing way! These look lovely.
I really enjoy your blog, lots of great photos and recipes! These look so good! I love oats, chocolate, and raisins, but have never combined all three.
These bars look fantastic and full of flavor. I’m bookmarking this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
These sound wonderful! I’m not huge on raisins either but it sounds like they really work here. I’ll have to try these! 🙂
This looks really great but I don’t think I can do the raisins–maybe I would make this and then I could give it to other people instead of eating it all myself!
Who is getting to eat all these amazing creations? Those ingredients sound delicious to me so I can only imagine the combined taste!
Ha Kelly! My husband and I take the baked goods to work with us. I am also the girl who always brings a dessert to any gathering. Everyone knows that if we’re hanging out, I’ll probably have desserts in hand. I usually only have about one of whatever I make (hey, I have to taste test my food!)
I am soooo making my housemates make me these for my birthday. If they don’t, I’ll just make them this weekend!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
How many grams in a stick of butter?
beantownbaker — September 17th, 2013 @ 7:30 am
There is information about butter in my FAQ page. 1 stick=113g