Bacon Bourbon Brownies - Perfect Football Snack

Recently I had seen these bacon bourbon brownies floating around the internet.  It being the AFC Championship Game this weekend, I figured it was the perfect time to put these to the test.  Really, how else could you make a brownie better for football viewing?

Bacon Bourbon Brownie

Jen from Beantown Baker had some great recommendations when she attempted this recipe so I decided to take some of her suggestions and see what happened.  I wanted to take my go-to brownie recipe and adapt it to the fun football (read - manly) additions.  I would recommend that you take your favorite recipe and do the same, it's such an easy adaptation.

The Ingredients

To get going I cooked up about 10 pieces of bacon in a non-stick pan and set it aside in some paper towels for later, allowing it to crisp up.  I also made sure I held onto all the leftover bacon grease to use in the brownie batter.

Cooking Bacon

Between not blogging a recipe for awhile and the game starting earlier than I expected, I was a bad blogger and did not grab too many "step-by-step photos." I started off by combining the sugar and half of the called-for vegetable oil, and rather than adding a 1/2 cup of water, I added a half cup of Jim Beam!  This was much more than the recommended amount but I thought "go big or go home" - it all cooks off, right?!.

Sugar, Bourbon, and Some Oil....

I went ahead and added the remaining ingredients called for in the recipe I was using, and instead of adding the other half of the veggie oil I added about a third of a cup of bacon grease (literally poured out of the pan).  I didn't say these would be healthy!  Once fully mixed and all the flour clumps were gone I poured the batter into a greased, 9 x 13 inch pan.  At this point the bacon was cool and crispy so I chopped it up nicely, scattered it over the top of the brownie batter and placed the pan in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Ready for the oven

Extreme Close-up

Right before these finished cooking a lovely brownie smell started to take over and it was amazing!  The brownies were finished right at about 15 minutes - crisp around the edges with a good crackle on the top.  As this is a fairly fudgy recipe, I like to let them cool and set a bit before cutting in.

Cooling....

The thin and fudgy brownies were the perfect way to set up these added ingredients.  There was a definite bourbon flavor, and while not a strong bacon flavor, I got a nice salty crunch in each bite.  The typical sweetness of this dessert was cut nicely, making it the perfect beer companion.  To get a stronger bacon flavor you probably could mix some of the crispy bits into the batter.  You could also get a little heavy (or heavier) handed with the bourbon to really change the flavor up some more.

Bacon Bourbon Brownies

Regardless, these are a great treat to enjoy with a beer in hand to watch a football game - February 5th perhaps?!?  Go Patriots!!!!