Peanut butter cookies with bacon fat

Innovative ‘throwback’ ingredient yields fantastic flavour!

I’ve always been a fan of pioneer stories, particularly the ones that highlight the ingenuity and resilience of women who kept their families fed despite seemingly-insurmountable obstacles. My father grew up on a farm and I imagine my grandmother was similarly creative when it came to stretching her food budget and making good use of by-products. In that spirit, I present a most extraordinary cookie recipe, in which I have replaced the butter with bacon fat. I always have a jar of bacon fat tucked in the fridge to add a little je ne sais quoi when sautéing vegetables for soup or greasing pans for cornbread, to name just a few of my favourite uses. I happily emptied the jar to make these beauties and I won’t hesitate to do it again.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (118 mL) bacon fat (solidified but at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (135 g) peanut butter
• 1 cup (213 g) brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (202 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch salt
• Granulated sugar for pressing

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, to be used with an electric mixer) beat the bacon fat, peanut butter, and sugar until it is a creamy texture and lighter in color (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
• Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, beating until no dry spots remain.
• With your clean hands, pinch off portions of dough and roll into balls about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size. Place the dough balls about an inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet.
• Dip the tines of a fork in granulated sugar and gently press the top of each cookie dough ball to make a cross-hatched pattern.
• Bake for 8 – 9 minutes, until just barely beginning to brown at the edges. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 30 cookies.