#59 - Bacon-Bourbon Brownies with Pecans

Today's Mikey's birthday, and when we saw this recipe had two of his favorite things - bacon and bourbon - we had his birthday dessert all planned out.

Bacon-Bourbon Brownies with Pecans

From Food & Wine
These are bacon-bourbon pecan brownies, so the recipe will definitely include bacon, bourbon, and pecans. And then you just need the ingredients it takes to make brownies - butter, eggs, sugar, and chocolate.
We've never made brownies from scratch before (unless you count those chocolate bouchons from a couple months back), and what better way to get started than with toasting some pecans.
The bizarre part was the bacon, but mostly that just goes on top as a crumble. And then some bacon fat and bourbon were added to make the inside extra moist.
As expected, these were pretty unusual brownies. A whole bunch of people went over to Nonno's house to celebrate Mikey and Lorenzo's birthdays, and the reception of this dessert was mixed. They tasted good, but they were really rich, and you probably couldn't eat a whole piece if you cut the squares too big.

The bacon, though, was kinda fun. It wasn't too overpowering and added a bit of texture and saltiness along with the pecans.
If you wanna give these a try, just follow these steps and see what you think.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 lb sliced bacon
• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 stick plus 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 Tbs bourbon
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang on 2 opposite sides. Spray with nonstick spray.
3. Spread pecans in a pie plate and toast until fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let cool and coarsely chop.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 6 minutes.
5. Drain on paper towels and let cool. Reserve 3 Tbs of the fat.
6. Finely chop the bacon.
7. In a small saucepan, combine both chocolates and the butter and stir over very low heat until melted. Scrape into a large bowl.
8. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in both sugars with the reserved 3 Tbs of bacon fat.
9. Beat in the bourbon.
10. Add the eggs and beat until smooth.
11. Sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl and beat until blended.
12. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the pecans and bacon on top.
13. Bake until the brownies are set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center, about 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should have some batter clinging to it.
14. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool brownies completely.
15. Lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.