Salted Caramel Bacon Bars

There are some foods that just naturally go together, like PB&J, chips & salsa, and beer & pretzels, to name a few. There are also some that, well... let's just say they've been tried and experimented with and in the end, should have been left alone. I'm not judging, as I have eaten my fair-share of unpopular foods and enjoyed them. But when it comes to experimenting, the one food I find that always seems to end up on top when mixed with other foods - unless you are vegan - is bacon. I'm talking about that trusty, salty, crispy, fat-drenched pork candy!  Can I get an Amen!

Now, all of my vegan readers will just have to pardon me for a second as I share this newest creation. It's quite simple, actually. I have a friend who had a birthday over the weekend and let's just say she is pretty obsessed with that pig candy.  She is also a lover of salted caramel and I wanted to bake her something special for her special day. With both of those in mind, I decided to try combining the two flavors.  I must say that I have been making these caramel bars from Averie Cooks more than my fair share in the last few months as people just go nuts over them.  I also like how easy they are to make. Adding the bacon seemed like a no-brainer... as well as a match made in heaven... I'm jus' sayin'!

Salted Caramel Bacon Bars
  
Makes one 13" x 9" pan of bars (Depending on your love of bacon and caramel)

1 1/2 Cups of Unsalted Butter (3 sticks) Cubed in 1 Tbs. increments
1 1/4 Cup of Powdered Sugar
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Tbs of Vanilla Extract
3 Cups of Flour

3/4 Cup of caramel sauce (store bought ice cream topping is what I used)
1/2 lbs of crispy cooked bacon chopped in bits. (I used low sodium bacon)
1 Tsp. of Kosher Flaked Salt

Pre-heat oven to 350˚.  I baked the bacon first using this method, but kept the oven temp at 350.
While the bacon is cooking, place the butter and sugars and vanilla in your mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix until all are incorporated. Then scrape down the sides and add your flour. Mix again until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Line your 13x9 in pan with parchment paper (I always do this to make sure the bars don't stick and get really good cutting results). Take 3/4 of your dough and pat it in the pan making sure it is flat and even throughout the pan.

~ Note: I will place another piece of parchment on top of the dough and use a glass or small roller to make sure the dough is completely flat and even. Then I remove the top parchment.

Before placing in the oven, use a fork and prick the top of the shortbread all over to prevent bubbles. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 min. After the first baking, pull out and spread on top (evenly) your caramel sauce. Then sprinkle on your bacon bits. Lastly, sprinkle on the kosher salt. Then take your left-over dough and crumble little bits (dime size) all over the top and place the whole pan back in the oven for approx 20-30 minutes until all the shortbread crumbs on top are brown and golden. Cool an hour (I know, it's hard to wait!) before taking the whole parchment-lined bar out of the pan and cut into squares.

~ Note: after the bars come out and before you cut, you can drizzle more caramel on top.  I prefer not to as they are easier to handle. You have now been warned. These bars will go quickly and they will become your new best friend, or share and get yourself a whole new group of best friends.

Happy Birthday Suzanna!

 

Throwing a Purposeful Dish Together

Has this ever happened to you? You get invited over to someone's house for a lovely dinner party and you're asked to bring something. At that moment, you instictfully respond with "Sure! Can't wait! Love to!" Then the week goes by, crazier than expected, and bam! here you are smack-dab on the morning of the dinner and you realize that you don't have a plan. Nor do you have a car to get you to the store since your husband had already left with it. Well, this actually does happen to me more often than not. I would love to boast that I'm a very organized person but with all that is continuous in my life, "chaos" seems to be at the top of that list. I do have one thing going for me in that I can usually pull something out of my hat (or should I say pantry) even under the procrastination gun and on top of that, I find that those are the desserts or tapas that usually end up being the best. If you have a few basic recipes memorized then quite possibly changing a few of the flavors will make for a pleasant surprise. Then, when you show up to the party with your contribution in hand, you can "Wow" them by saying "I was so excited to come that I was inspired to create this dish just for today!" I'm jus' sayin'!

I did a post a while back for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie that has just a few ingredients in it and is very easy to throw together. I took that as inspiration along with a handful of leftover ginger cookies from the cookie jar and made this...


Chocolate Dreamsicle Pie

1 Graham Cracker Crust (I used left over cookies that I pulverized in the food processor instead of graham crackers)
1 8 oz Package of Cream Cheese Softened
1 8 oz Tub of Frozen Whipped Topping
1/2 Cup of Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice
1 Tbsp. of Good Vanilla Extract
2 oz. of Melted Dark Chocolate (to drizzle on top of pie)
Orange Wedges to Garnish.

In your mixer with the whisk attachment, beat cream cheese until it is fluffy. Add the orange juice concentrate and vanilla. Then beat in the whipped topping until all is combined and fluffy. Spoon into cooled crust. Melt chocolate and place in a small plastic sandwich bag, snip the corner and drizzle in any pattern all over the top of pie. Garnish with orange wedges. Chill for at least an hour before serving.


I was also supposed to bring an appetizer. Luckily, I have an easy pizza dough recipe that work's as a mock-Focaccia in a pinch. I use the same basic recipe but always change the flavors by switching up the toppings. It's pretty much a no-fail treat.


Focaccia 2-Ways

Basic Dough

4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Warm Water
2 Tablespoons of Instant Dry Yeast
1/3 Cup of Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Salt

* For this version of the basic recipe I also added 1 Teaspoon of Granulated Garlic and 1 Tablespoon of Herbs de Provence

Mix all of the above in a metal bowl (a sticky dough will form). Cover with a damp dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, knead on a floured board adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until it is no longer sticky (when the dough pulls away from the board cleanly), then divide in half. Take one-half and form on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in the shape of a rustic oval. Do the same with the other half.

At this point you can drizzle olive oil on top and go to town with whatever topping(s) you have in the pantry and fridge. Rule of thumb is to use a fruit/nut/cheese combo and you can't go wrong.

In this version, I used Fig Walnut Conserve, Goat Cheese and prosciutto on one loaf. On the other loaf, I used prosciutto, goat cheese, pine nuts and thinly sliced green apple.

Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve sliced with olive oil for dipping.