Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

My mom is a celiac. Which means she can't eat anything fun. Well, gluten. Which is in flour, for one. And a lot of other little things that you wouldn't expect. I've learned to keep the crumbs out of the peanut butter, and read a label really carefully, but chances are, unless you're a five-year-old and madly in love with Jello, your favourite dessert has gluten in it somewhere. Which is why I'm going to try to throw in as many gluten-free recipes as I can, or at least alternate recipes, so the celiacs of the world don't have to suffer through the agony of watching everyone else at the table eat a huge, delicious slice of pie. Mmm, pie...

Sorry, where was I? Oh right, Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies. Easiest things on the planet. Only  four ingredients, and a cooking time of 8-10 minutes. You ready?

Preheat your oven to 350. (This recipe makes 24 two-bite cookies. I think. I eat a lot of the dough.)

1 cup peanut butter

½ cup white sugar*

1 egg**
5 strips of bacon

 

*I make this recipe with pre-sweetened peanut butter. If you want to use unsweetened peanut butter, put in a whole cup of sugar instead.

**The other egg in the picture is my breakfast. Not that I can't count before my first cup of coffee. Follow what I say, not what I do.

Lay your bacon out on a sheet pan, and cook them for about 17 minutes in your oven until crispy. Crispiness is very important, as the bacon won't crisp up anymore in the cookies, and this is all about texture! And crispy bacon. I think this blog post might just turn into a detailed depiction of my love affair with bacon. And peanut butter. But mostly bacon. When your bacon is cool enough, chop it into tiny bits.

In a bowl, mix your sugar and peanut butter together. Crack in your egg, and mix that.

See? Only one egg. You must be going mad.

It'll seem terrifyingly moist at first, but keep mixing, and it'll firm up a bit. Stir in your bacon bits, then scoop the dough out onto a greased or non-stick cookie sheet, and smush them with a fork. They'll flatten out a little as they cook, so don't put them too close together. 

Cook them for 8-10 minutes, or until they turn golden around the edges. Let them sit for about five minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack, otherwise they'll just crumble. And then you'll have to eat the pieces. What a shame.

There you go, ridiculously simple and celiac-friendly. Impress your friends!

PRO TIP (or obvious logic is obvious): If you're a vegetarian, or don't trust me when I tell you that peanut butter and bacon are made to be together, you can make some boring old peanut butter cookies just by taking the bacon out. Madness!