Well… I guess we are back to more »unusual« flavor combinations. Simple cookies with chocolate or caramel can be made by everybody. My motto is always – experiment! If you have a nice recipe, try making something new out of it. Occasionally you will fail, but most of the time you will probably end up with something new and delicious. Maybe even better than the original recipe…. I give you exhibit A: Cookie Bars with Bacon & Dark Beer! So good!
If you know my blog, you might have noticed already, I like it sweet and salty at the same time and also more of the unusual stuff you can bake. Baking some weird stuff is just much more entertaining and interesting than the good old classics. Isn’t it? You get much more »oohs« and »aaahs« when you bake something unconventional and exciting. In case you are interested – here are some examples…
Potato Chip Peanut Butter Cookies – check!
Mini Cupcakes with Bourbon, maple sirup and glazed bacon – check!
Cookies with salted pretzels, potato chips, chocolate and basically all leftovers from your christmas baking – check!
I posted it already on my Instagram account and on Facebook. Tomorrow or in case you read this some other day it will be in the past – yesterday, the day before, a week ago, a month or year ago, who knows… I will be/have been in a TV show called »Sweet & Easy – Enie backt«. It’s a baking show on Sixx and guess what I was baking with the host Enie? No cake, no cupcakes… much easier.
Well, it is written here all over already: I made cookie bars with bacon, chocolate, salted pretzels, chips, and dark beer! Ernie wanted something unusual so I brought her something special. I think she liked it, or let’s say she did not complain after eating several of the cookie bars.
They are extremely delicious and highly addictive I’d say. The combination of ingredients might sound a bit weird at the beginning, but the result is outstanding! If you don’t believe me, you have to try it for yourself.
Update: The video of the show with the recipe has been uploaded to YouTube. Check it out here.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(12 cookie bars)
For the dough:
3/4 cup (170g) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar*
1/2 cup (100g) sugar (fine)*
1 medium egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract*
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
1 tsp. baking soda*
3 tbsp. dark beer (e.g. Guinness Stout)
2 slices of fried bacon, chopped
3/4 cup (100g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
For the topping:
8.5 oz. (240g) caramels
1/4 cup (60ml) dark beer (e.g. Guinness Stout)
1 tbsp. peanut butter*
3/4 cup (35g) salted potato chips
1/4 cup (20g) pretzels
2-3 slices of fried bacon, chopped
1/2 cup (60g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
melted chocolate to drizzle
(12 Cookie Bars)
Für den Teig:
170g weiche Butter
100g brauner Zucker*
100g Zucker (fein)*
1 Ei (M)
2 TL Vanille Extrakt*
260g Mehl (Type 405)*
1 TL Natron*
3 EL dunkles Bier (z.B. Guinness Stout)
2 Scheiben Speck, knusprig angebraten & gehackt
100g Zartbitter Schokoladendrops*
Für das Topping:
240g Karamellbonbons
60ml dunkles Bier (z.B. Guinness Stout)
1 EL Erdnussbutter*
35g Kartoffelchips, gesalzen
20g Salzbrezeln
2-3 Scheiben Speck, knusprig angebraten & gehackt
60g Zartbitter Schokoladendrops*
geschmolzene Schokolade zum Verzieren
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a square baking pan* (23x23cm) with baking parchment and set aside. Fry the bacon for the batter and topping and let it drain on a paper towel.
2. In a large bowl mix the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Combine the flour with baking soda and add it together with the beer to the bowl. Mix until well combined. Add the chopped bacon and chocolate chips and fold in. Transfer to the baking pan. The dough is quite thick, so you have to press it into the pan. Smooth out the top and bake the base for the cookie bars for about 24-26 minutes – the edges should get a bit of color. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely in the pan.
3. Add the caramels and beer to a small saucepan and heat up until the caramels are melted – don’t go too high with the temperature, or the caramel will burn. Let the mixture bubble over low heat for about 5-8 minutes. You want to create a thick caramel sauce that is still spreadable, so don’t overcook it.
4. Cut the bacon into small pieces, and crush the potato chips and salted pretzels a bit so you have (not too) small pieces. Mix with the bacon and chocolate chips and set aside.
5. As soon as the cookie bar base has cooled, spread the beer caramel evenly on top. Spread the peanut butter on top as well (works best with a small spatula or the back of a spoon) and sprinkle everything with the potato-chips-pretzel-bacon-chocolate-chips mixture. Press a bit into the caramel and let cool down completely.
6. Take out of the pan and cut into twelve squares/bars. Drizzle everything with melted chocolate to your liking and serve.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine quadratische Backform (23x23cm)* mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Den Speck anbraten und auf einem Papiertuch etwas abtropfen lassen.
2. Die Butter mit den beiden Zuckersorten in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Das Ei und den Vanille Extrakt zugeben und gut unterrühren. Das Mehl mit dem Natron vermischen und zusammen mit dem Bier in die Schüssel dazugeben und gut verrühren. Den klein gehackten Speck und Schokoladendrops zugeben und unterheben. Den Teig in die vorbereitete Form füllen/pressen und glatt streichen. Die Cookie Bars im vorgeheizten Ofen für etwa 24-26 Minuten backen. Die Ränder sollten leicht Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und in der Form komplett abkühlen lassen.
3. Die Karamellbonbons und das Bier in einen kleinen Topf geben und bei mittlerer Hitze das Karamell schmelzen. Die Mischung wird etwas aufschäumen und dann schön blubbern. Unter ständigem Rühren für etwa 5-8 Minuten andicken lassen.
4. Den angebratenen Speck in kleine Stücke schneiden, die Chips und Salzbrezeln in grobe Stücke brechen (nicht zu klein) und alles mit den Schokoladendrops vermischen.
5. Wenn die Basis für die Cookie Bars abgekühlt ist, das Bierkaramell auf der Oberfläche verteilen. Die Erdnussbutter darauf verstreichen – das geht am besten mit einem kleinen Spatel oder der Rückseite eines Löffels. Zum Schluss die Chips-Brezel-Speck-Schokodrops-Mischung darauf verteilen und etwas andrücken.
6. Alles aus der Form nehmen und in zwölf Quadrate schneiden. Nach Belieben mit etwas geschmolzener Schokolade verzieren und dann servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Cookie Bars with Bacon & Dark Beer
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:26
- Total Time: 01:20
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Brownies
- Method: -
- Cuisine: United States
Description
The combination might sound weird, but it is just awesome – delicious cookie bars with bacon, pretzels, chocolate, caramel, and dark beer. It’s a lot but good!
Ingredients
For the dough:
3/4 cup (170g) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar*
1/2 cup (100g) sugar (fine)*
1 medium egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract*
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
1 tsp. baking soda*
3 tbsp. dark beer (e.g. Guinness Stout)
2 slices of fried bacon, chopped
3/4 cup (100g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
For the topping:
8.5 oz. (240g) caramels
1/4 cup (60ml) dark beer (e.g. Guinness Stout)
1 tbsp. peanut butter*
3/4 cup (35g) salted potato chips
1/4 cup (20g) pretzels
2-3 slices of fried bacon, chopped
1/2 cup (60g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
melted chocolate to drizzle
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a square baking pan* (23x23cm) with baking parchment and set aside. Fry the bacon for the batter and topping and let it drain on a paper towel.
2. In a large bowl mix the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Combine the flour with baking soda and add it together with the beer to the bowl. Mix until well combined. Add the chopped bacon and chocolate chips and fold in. Transfer to the baking pan. The dough is quite thick, so you have to press it into the pan. Smooth out the top and bake the base for the cookie bars for about 24-26 minutes – the edges should get a bit of color. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely in the pan.
3. Add the caramels and beer to a small saucepan and heat up until the caramels are melted – don’t go too high with the temperature, or the caramel will burn. Let the mixture bubble over low heat for about 5-8 minutes. You want to create a thick caramel sauce that is still spreadable, so don’t overcook it.
4. Cut the bacon into small pieces, and crush the potato chips and salted pretzels a bit so you have (not too) small pieces. Mix with the bacon and chocolate chips and set aside.
5. As soon as the cookie bar base has cooled, spread the beer caramel evenly on top. Spread the peanut butter on top as well (works best with a small spatula or the back of a spoon) and sprinkle everything with the potato-chips-pretzel-bacon-chocolate-chips mixture. Press a bit into the caramel and let cool down completely.
6. Take out of the pan and cut into twelve squares/bars. Drizzle everything with melted chocolate to your liking and serve.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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Ein echt perverser, aber auch echt leckerer Keks! Kam super an, aber das nächste Mal würde ich weniger Zucker für den Teig verwenden. Ist doch arg süss.
Hallo Wibke,
ja die Cookie Bars sind die volle Dröhnung – in jeder Hinsicht – auch beim Zuckergehalt.
Kann man aber natürlich immer etwas reduzieren. Sind ja auch noch genug andere Sachen drin mit der ein oder anderen Kalorie :P
Viele Grüße,
Marc