Chewy, soft snickerdoodles are kicked up a notch with maple flavor, candied bacon, and a drizzle of dark chocolate!
If you’ve spent any time around here at all, you probably know a few things about me:
- I love bacon.
- I love cookies.
- I love chocolate.
- I have anxiety, and baking is my outlet for stress relief.
This recipe is a culmination of all of those things, rolled in sugar, and baked at 375°F: maple bacon snickerdoodles, covered with a chocolate drizzle.
The holidays are my favorite time of the year, but they’re also typically the most stressful. Partially because there are constant parties, and potlucks, and blizzards, and light shows, and holiday concerts, and so much more to do – but it’s also because I don’t get to spend the holidays with my family.
Sure, I have friends and Bill’s family that welcome me into their homes (for which I am eternally grateful), but they’re not my family. Mine is spread all over the country and I very rarely get to see them.
I get a pang of sadness every time I think about it, and it makes me want to bake every single thing that I see on Pinterest and there are straight up just not enough hours in the day to make that happen.
I know I’m not alone in feeling that way, so I believe that sometimes just a batch of cookies can provide someone with a much-needed pick-me-up, especially for those who already suffer from depression or anxiety.
Did you know that the act of baking for someone else can actually be as beneficial as the act of receiving the gift? Psychologists have found that baking for others helps to promote a sense of well being in the baker themself – more the reason to bake all the things!
Thankfully, Bob’s Red Mill understands this and believes that we can make the world a better place through small acts of kindness, like gifting someone with homemade baked goods!
I’ve been using their products for years because they’re consistently high quality and I never have to worry about the way my desserts will turn out, so it helps to know that it’s also a company that cares about the well being of others. ❤
I’m excited to be partnering with Bob’s Red Mill this holiday season to spread love through food, since that’s basically my expertise. I have a bag of their Organic All Purpose Baking Flour as well as their Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
They’re both fantastic, but for this recipe I decided to use the all purpose flour.
I baked up some thick cut bacon brushed with maple syrup and covered in brown sugar while I worked on the cookie dough.
Once done, the bacon needs to cool completely so that it can be crumbled into the dough, so it’s easy enough to work on both at the same time since the bacon cools off pretty quickly.
You’ll crumble it, add it to the dough, and then chill the dough for an hour. During that time, you can dance around the kitchen to holiday music while singing into a spatula.
Just a suggestion.
Once the dough has chilled, you’ll roll each in a maple cinnamon sugar mixture before you pop them in the oven. Trust me – you don’t want to skip this part.
Let’s get up close and personal, shall we? There it is.
The cookies themselves are sweet and pillowy, and the chunks of bacon provide a delightful salty flavor in each bite.
Next up, we’re going to drizzle them in chocolate. Why? Because bacon and chocolate should always be together. They’re soulmates and no one can convince me otherwise.
I knew you’d agree with me.
Now go whip up a batch of these cookies, wrap them up in a cute gift box, and deliver them to someone you could use a little extra love this holiday season ❤
If you’re low on baking supplies, head over to Bob’s Red Mill’s site for $1 off any product you’d like! Share your creations with me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter by using #stressbaking and #Bakesgiving, and tagging me!
After you’ve made this recipe, please consider coming back to share your experience with others by leaving a comment below with a star rating!
Maple Bacon Snickerdoodles
Equipment
Ingredients
Candied Bacon
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- Maple syrup, to coat bacon
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar
Maple Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup maple sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Snickerdoodle dough
- 2.25 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic All Purpose Baking Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate wafers, melted
Instructions
Candied bacon
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil.
- Lay each strip of bacon on the foil. Brush with a thin layer of maple syrup, then top with a layer of brown sugar.
- Place an oven safe wire rack on top of the prepared baking sheet, and then place prepared bacon on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until crispy – you want it to easily crumble once it’s cooled. Let cool completely on wire rack.
- When completely cooled, crumble into a small bowl and set aside.
Maple Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- In a small bowl, whisk together maple sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Snickerdoodle dough
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon and cream of tartar. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add egg, maple syrup and vanilla extract and beat to completely combined.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until completely combined.
- Add crumbled bacon and stir to combine. If including chocolate chips, stir them in now as well.
- Place dough in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a baking sheet parchment paper or nonstick silicon mats.
- Measure out each ball of dough using a medium cookie scoop, and roll each in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place at least a couple inches apart on prepared baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops have cracked.
- Let cool on baking mats, as they will spread just slightly more as they set. Move to wire racks to cool completely.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate and let set completely.
- Package them up, craft a handwritten note and gift them to someone you love for them to enjoy!
Nutrition
Related Posts
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.
Mary
how can i make maple sugar homemade
Leslie Kiszka
I’ve never it done it myself, but I bet there are some great tutorials out there if you do a quick google search! Here’s one that I found: https://imaginacres.com/maple-sugar/
Lois. O
Oh yaas girl! I feel with you that bacon and cookie love! What a great idea to mash them together! Outside of the cinnamon (hubby not a fan), I’ll be looking to reproduce this!
Leslie Haasch
You could definitely leave the cinnamon out if you want, it just won’t be as snickerdoodle-y :)
Whole Food Bellies (@Wholefoodbellie)
Ok these NEED to happen! We love cookies and bacon so this is a perfect combination (or a dangerous one!)
Leslie Haasch
Definitely dangerous ;)
Amanda
What a fantastic twist on snickerdoodles! These would make a perfect holiday gift. Bookmarking to make next weekend!
Leslie Haasch
Hooray!
Amanda Mason
I love your #4…OMG that is SO me! My husband always looks forward to me having a bad day because I cook as a stress reliever! Bob’s Red Mill is my FAVORITE brand! These look amazing!
Leslie Haasch
Hahah I’m glad you can relate!
fentonjillian
I love snickerdoodle cookies, never thought to put bacon in them though? Sounds like the perfect salty and sweet combo!
Kate
I love snickerdoodles! Love the addition of the chocolate drizzle. Yum!
prasanna hede
These cookies look amazing as a Gift! Never tried bacon cookies before but these look yummm!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
Well, since I absolutely love bacon and snickerdoodles I’m sure those treats would not last long in this house. I’ve seen bacon used a lot with sweets. The salty sweet idea is making my mouth water. YUM!
Sharon Glascoe
Adding brown sugar to the bacon then baking it and finally adding it to the cookies–these are genius!
Angie
I’ve had maple and bacon donuts but not cookies. I’ll have to make these – yum!!
LydiaF1963
I think snickerdoodles were the first cookies I ever made…way back when I was in 4H. I love your updated flavors of maple and bacon. Yum!
Leslie Haasch
4H – I haven’t thought about that in years!
helene dsouza
I have never tried cookies with bacon. I can see however that bacon goes well with maple syrup. Quality flour helps in baking great cookies. :)
Leslie Haasch
Quality flour AND real maple syrup, for sure! :)
The Dad
One, I know I’ve told you this before, but your writing is entertaining to the Nth degree. Two, I understand Clayton’s comment completely, because these cookies look absolutely worthy of an office fight. In other words, fantastic!
Leslie Haasch
Why thank you!
Clayton
So after Leslie brought these into the office to share with we fellow coworkers and I took a bite, I became convinced that she is a wizard. This recipe produces magical food. In fact, another office neighbor and I nearly got into a fight in trying to get a second cookie. In all seriousness, these cookies are absolutely delicious, and I’m planning on trying to make them myself someday! And Leslie is a wizard.
Leslie Haasch
I have to admit, I was a little worried about the throwdown that was going to happen. Mostly because I didn’t want the cookie to get harmed in the process.
Aaron Lin
These cookies are amazing, the perfect mix of savory and sweet. I need more of these in my life… HNNGH!
Leslie Haasch
I was so glad you liked these when I brought them to the office!
Anonymous
Ok, so these will be the secret nd thing I make when we get home. Not sure of sending these to CA, so they’ll be shard with my bacon loving nephew.
Leslie Haasch
I love that plan! Make sure to save some for yourself, too :)