Maple Bacon Shortbread Cookies

I love sweet and salty combinations and desserts that are also slightly savory. There's just something so interesting about certain flavors together like the sweetness of good maple syrup and the savory saltiness of bacon. Baked together in a shortbread cookie, the two make an amazing treat. And since shortbread is another of my favorite things, I was pretty happy when these came out of the oven.

The dough itself is easy to work with and bakes up to a nice buttery shortbread texture. Speaking of baking, though, I've had Silpat baking mats for a long time. They're a great, dishwasher safe, non-stick surface so there's no need to grease the baking sheet. But they've only solved one of my cookie baking problems. I'm going to admit right here that I've had more cookie failures attributed to spacing issues than any other reason. Yes, I crowd my cookies. And each time I tell myself I won't, I still end up doing it. I need cookie remediation.

Apparently I'm not alone because Silpat just introduced the Perfect Line which includes guide lines with the inner circle showing the size of the dough, the outer circle showing the final cookie spread and the correct spacing built in. Cookie remediation! There's also a Perfect Line version for pretzels, too, if you need pretzel remediation. So not only were these cookies easy but they were perfectly spaced. Enjoy!

by Hungry Couple

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 - 22 Minutes

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Ingredients (1 Dozen)

• 4 Slices cooked, crispy bacon, crumbled
• 1 Stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 Cup maple syrup
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix in the flour and salt. Stir in the crumbled bacon. Roll the dough a bit with your hands until all the ingredients are incorporated and you have a dough ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough to about 3/4" - 1" thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut out rounds. I used a 2 1/2" fluted cutter. Place each round on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat mat and bake for 20 - 22 minutes.

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Note that I received the Silpat Perfect Line baking mats to try out but was not otherwise compensated and the recipe and opinions are my own.


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