Bacon Bourban Pecan Brownies

Bacon brownies.  Well, actually they're bacon bourbon pecan brownies.  But I thought I'd have you at bacon.

Bacon (for some inexplicable reason) seems to have this intoxicating power over people (men).  Bring it up, fry some up, or just plain bring it home (I know, I know...), and people (men) become entranced.  It's their Pied Piper.

If you watch Top Chef (as I do), there's inevitably an episode (or four) in every season where the chefs decide to incorporate bacon into their desserts.  And in every episode (or four) it is a hit or miss.  "What?", you say.  A miss.  Sad but true.  Not every dessert with bacon, um, saves someone's bacon from elimination (again, I know, but it's late...).  

So, what's the allure?  There was only one way to find out.  So I decided to try bacon with brownies.  I made a couple of tweaks along the way (like changing out the pecans for walnuts, which technically makes it bacon bourbon walnut brownies - but this is all about the bacon, isn't it?) 

Wondering what I thought of them?  I prefer my bacon on cheeseburgers.  And the Monarch?  Well, let's just say that I definitely had him at bacon.... 

 

 

 

 
Bacon Bourbon Pecan Brownies
adapted from Food and Wine

1/2 cup pecan (or walnuts)

1/2 pound sliced bacon (I would try apple smoked bacon next time)

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped 

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 packed cup light brown sugar 

3 tablespoons bourbon

4 large eggs 

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of overhang on 2 opposite sides. Butter the paper.
3. Spread the pecans on a baking pan and toast until fragrant. Let cool and then  chop the nuts until coarse.
4.In a skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat. Drain on paper towels and let cool; reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat. Finely chop the bacon.

(Note: the original recipe suggested that the bacon be cooked until crisp.  Since the bacon crisps even more when the brownies are baked, I would fry until cooked through only and then remove from heat.)

5.In a saucepan, combine both chocolates with the butter and stir over very low heat until melted; scrape into a large bowl.
6. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat in both sugars with the reserved 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. Beat in the bourbon. Add the eggs and salt and beat until smooth. Sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl and beat until blended.
7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the bacon and pecans on top.
8. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the brownies are set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center.  (I like really fudgy brownies - so I undercooked them a little and put them in the fridge overnight.)
9. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool completely. Lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve.