Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Celebrate Denny's Baconalia with Bacon Brownies with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Bacon Brownies with Bourbon Caramel Sauce
There are few things I love more than bacon (just check out my posts about Zingerman's Bacon of the Month Club).

So when I heard that Denny's recently launched Baconalia, their menu honoring all things bacon, I jumped at the chance to share my favorite bacon recipe. While I love using bacon in a variety of ways -- from throwing it into breakfast scrambles, to cooking it with corn and lima beans in a succotash, to sous vide cooking pork tenderloin in bacon fat -- my favorite is recipe is a dessert.

I love combining bacon, chocolate, and caramel (Denny's has a new Bacon Maple Sundae, so they're on the same wavelength).

My recipe is for Bacon Brownies with Bourbon Caramel Sauce. I cook up thick-cut bacon and bake it into a dense, fudge-like brownie with a healthy topping of bourbon caramel sauce. These are great served up on their own.

However, to impress at a dinner party, I bake the brownies and make the caramel sauce separately. Then, I plate the warm brownies and top them with vanilla ice cream and a piece of crispy bacon. To finish, I drizzle warm bourbon caramel sauce over the top. They're in a word... bacon-fabulous!

So celebrate Baconalia with Bacon Brownies! 

Bacon Brownies with Bourbon Caramel Sauce
Makes 9 brownies
Baking time: about 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

bourbon caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions
To make the bourbon caramel sauce, cook the sugar over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and caremalized. Add the bourbon and stir to combine. Then, add the butter and cream and stir to combine. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the sauce comes together.

To make the bacon brownies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and sugar until smooth. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring to combine. Add it to the eggs/vanilla/sugar mixture and stir to combine. Then, sift together the flour and cocoa powder, and fold into the wet mixture.  Fold in the bacon.


Spread the batter into a parchment-lined 8 inch square pan. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool in the pan. Cut into 2 inch squares (should yield 9 brownies).

Source for Ingredients
bourbon vanilla extract, Niman Ranch thick cut bacon, organic unsweetened cocoa powder, organic cane sugar, organic butter and Reserve Bourbon from Trader Joe's

organic flour, bittersweet chocolate and organic heavy cream from Whole Foods

organic eggs from Healthy Family Farms (Hollywood Farmers Market)

Disclosure: This post was created at part of the Foodbuzz Baconalia challenge and is an entry as a chance to win.

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