Bourbon Maple Syrup with Bacon Cookies

This is an updated version

I needed to update the how-to process and the photos for this recipe. If you had not had a chance to make and eat these cookies, I hope you will try them. Sweet and salty, all wrapped up into one cookie!

Last year at work, before COVID hit, one of my co-workers brought donuts for a birthday treat. One of them was maple icing with bacon bits on top. It was the best donut I ever had. So, of course, the wheels started turning, and I thought there has to be a way to make this into a cookie.

Forgetting about it for almost a year, the conversation came up again a couple of weeks ago. I was craving that salty-sweet combination, so I knew I had to create a cookie with these flavors.

Ingredients

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Cookie Dough

• Butter unsalted 
• Cream Cheese
• Sugar white 
• Bourbon maple syrup
• Eggs
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Kosher Salt

Icing and Topping

• Powdered sugar 
• Melted butter unsalted
• Bourbon maple syrup
• Vanilla Extract
• Bacon Cooked and cut into small pieces

Choosing the Maple Syrup

Starting the research with the types of maple syrups. Some were really thin in body, and the taste was light. Bourbon maple syrups are more expensive than your average run-of-the-mill maple syrup from the grocery store, but honestly, it makes all the difference in taste for the icing and the cookie. The prices run anywhere from $12.00 a bottle to about $27.00 at Trader Joe's.

The bourbon maple syrup has a more robust flavor than regular table syrup. It can also have hints of vanilla, oak (from the barrel), and a strong cinnamon finishing taste. You will be surprised at the difference in taste between your table and bourbon maple syrups.

What is Bourbon Maple Syrup

In order to add the flavor of bourbon to the maple syrup, the syrup is stored in bourbon barrels. The process is that the syrup is heated, then poured into the barrels, and the plug is put in to seal the syrup. The syrup is left alone in the barrel for months and then tasted. If it is good, it is taken out and reheated. The mixture is then filtered and bottled.

Does Bourbon Maple Syrup Have Alcohol

No, bourbon maple syrup is not an alcoholic beverage. Bourbon maple syrup is a type of maple syrup that has been infused with bourbon flavor. It is made by combining maple syrup and bourbon, but the alcohol content is quite low.

Usually, the alcohol content is around 0. 5% or even lower. This means that the amount of alcohol in the syrup is too small to have any effect on the taste or its overall quality. Additionally, the alcohol in the syrup evaporates during the cooking process, leaving only a hint of the remaining bourbon flavor. The Donut Whole

So you have all the ingredients; now it is time to make the cookies!

Crispy Bacon

To go along with the great maple taste, I choose small lean strips of bacon, where I could use almost all the bacon after I chopped it up.

Fry your bacon over medium-low heat. If it starts to fry too fast, turn the heat down. You want to render as much fat off the meat, so slow is the way. You don't want any fatty pieces, but you do want crunchy real bacon bits. Lay the bacon strips on paper towels to absorb the grease.

Once the bacon has cooled, cut the bacon meat into small pieces. Toss any fatty pieces. Trust me; the jar-bought bacon bits will do in a pinch, but real bacon is the best flavor for your cookie recipe.

Making Bourbon Maple Syrup Cookies

Weigh or measure your sugar and set it aside. Now weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Take a whisk and blend the mixture together. Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixer bowl and blend on medium speed for about a minute.

Stop and scrape the sides down and add the sugar. Mix the sugar into the butter-cream cheese mixture before turning the mixer to a medium-high speed. Mix for about 2 to 3 minutes. It should look smooth with soft peaks.

Next, add one egg and incorporate it before adding the 2nd egg. After the 2nd egg is incorporated, add the maple syrup. I scrape down the sides and turn the mixer on to a slow speed and gradually add the flour mixture. Finally, refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes. This is a soft cookie dough and needs to firm up a bit.

Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop, add 12 cookie dough mounds to one of the prepared cookie sheet pans.

I take the bottom of a water glass and gently press the tops of the cookie dough mounds just so they are a little flatter on the tops. It is easier to put the icing and bacon on later.

Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes. Once out of the oven, move the cookies to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before starting the icing.

Icing Topped With Bacon

The bacon should be fried, drained on a paper towel, and crumbled before you start the icing.

In a mixer bowl, add the melted butter, powdered sugar, bourbon maple syrup, and vanilla extract. You can whisk until blended or use a mixer. It only takes a couple of minutes either way.

Spread the icing onto the top of the cookie and then add some of the bacon bits. Press down on the bacon to make sure it sticks to the icing. This icing will start to harden soon after it is spread onto the cookie, so put the bacon on right after you add the icing to the cookie.

If you love bacon, you will love this cookie. I thought it was a weird combo the first time I heard of it, but they are sooo good. Please let me know if you love them also!

Storage

Whenever I use cream cheese in my cookies, I start by adding them to a container with a top-fitting lid. I also use parchment paper between layers, especially if they have icing or frosting on them.

If they get too soft, I don't seal the lid. This way, some air gets into the container. This is true the other way around. If they are not as soft as you like, make sure the lid is on tight, and they should be great by the next morning.

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