Chili Maple Bacon Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Soft on the inside and chewy on the outside, these chili maple bacon cookies are also the perfect combination of sweet, salty and spicy.

This is the cookie for your bacon-loving friend who doesn’t usually eat cookies. (Like me.) The subtle maple flavor and the fresh kick of chili from the spiked syrup balance the smokiness and salt of the bacon. But make no mistake, these are still plenty sweet enough to be called cookies.

I’m not much of a cookie eater but these guys with bacon and chili have me hooked! If you like cookies with bacon, you might also want to try my Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies or my Bacon Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cookies.

Ingredients - for 2 dozen cookies
1 lb or 450g smoked bacon, divided (11-13 thin slices)
1/4 cup or 60ml maple syrup
1 small hot red chili pepper
2/3 cup or 156ml canola or other light oil
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups or 250g flour +62g

1/4 cup or 60g turbinado or demerara sugar for rolling

Method
Mince the chili pepper finely and put it in a microwavable measuring cup or bowl with the maple syrup. Warm the syrup (about 30 seconds should do) and then leave to cool so the chili pepper flavor and heat will infuse the syrup.

Fry the bacon until crispy then drain on paper towels. Once cool, mince it finely. Divide the bacon bits into piles of about two-thirds and one-third. We’ll mix the bigger pile into the cookie dough and use the smaller one for rolling the dough balls.

Note: Once the maple syrup is cool, you can strain out the chili pepper if you’d like. I like to leave mine in.

In a mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugar, egg, maple syrup, baking soda, salt and vanilla.

Add in the bigger pile of minced bacon.

Mix well, then stir in the flour, stirring just until it is mixed in.

Refrigerate until stiff.

Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C and line two or three cookie sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners. These cookies do spread out so I baked them only six at a time.

Mix the turbinado or demarara sugar with the reserved minced bacon in a bowl.

Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll the dough pieces into balls and then roll in the sugar and bacon.

Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

Cool on the cookie sheets then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange friends are sharing cookies with chili. Check out the great list of recipes:

• Black Pepper Romano Herb Shortbread from Cream and Butter Baking
• Chile Chocolate Coins from The Spiced Life
• Chili Maple Bacon Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Cayenne Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Ginger-Chile Caramel Cookies from All That's Left Are The Crumbs

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Patatas Bravas Chorizo Sausage Rolls

Take a traditional sausage roll into delicious Spanish territory with these patatas bravas chorizo sausage rolls. ¡Olé! They are perfect with a chilled glass of rosé or beer for your summer party or picnic.

I love sausage rolls. In fact, they are one of my favorite snacks, whether made with puff pastry, short crust or yeast dough. And I don’t really mind which kind of sausage you put in the middle. Even a hot dog will do.

Back when my girls were students at the International School of Kuala Lumpur and I was often on campus doing volunteer work, I would eat sausage rolls most every morning. They were homemade - baked fresh each day - by the wonderful cooks who staffed the canteen.

Best of all, sausage rolls are portable so they are great for an on-the-go snack or picnic. Serve them hot or room temperature. Either way, they are delicious.

These patatas bravas chorizo sausage rolls are a spicy twist on my classic English sausage rolls.  If Spanish folks made sausage rolls, this is how I imagine they’d turn out. Not that they do, as far as I know.

Ingredients for 2 dozen bite-sized sausage rolls
For the sausage rolls:
7 1/2 oz or 215g puff pastry
Flour, for dusting
6 oz or 185g hot chorizo
6 oz or 185g potato, peeled and diced
1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 egg

For baking
1 egg, beaten

Method
Remove the casing from the chorizo and chop it into small dice.

Cook the chorizo and the diced potatoes with a splash of water, covered, for about 5-7 minutes. When the water has evaporated and the oil has been released from the chorizo, remove the cover and add the onion.

Cook, with a splatter guard, over a medium high heat until the potatoes are browned and tender and the onions are soft.

Add in the tomato paste, crushed pepper, paprika and sugar. Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.

Leave the mixture to cool for a few minutes and then spoon it into a food processor. Process with 1 egg till you have a homogeneous mixture that still has small pieces.

Roll the puff pastry into two long sheets on a lightly floured surface. Spoon the patatas brava chorizo filling onto the puff pastry.

Roll it up almost all the way then brush the beaten egg on the last section to help seal the roll. Wrap the rolls up in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Use a serrated knife to cut the sausage rolls into bite-sized pieces. Set them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or a silicone liner. Brush them with the beaten egg.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the patatas brava chorizo sausage rolls are puffed and golden.

Now pour yourself a glass of chilled rosé or beer and enjoy!

Are you a fan of picnics and picnic food? This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing our best recipes to take along on a picnic. Many thanks for our event manager Em, and our host this week, Christie of A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures.

Starters, Skewers, and Sandwiches al Fresco

• Antipasto Skewers by Soulfully Made
• Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cream Cheese Slider Sandwiches by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Italian Layered Portable Picnic Jars by The Weekend Gourmet
• Low Carb Ham Pinwheels by Cricket’s Confections
• Patatas Brava Chorizo Sausage Rolls by Food Lust People Love
• Refrigerator Pickled Ratatouille Vegetables by My Life Cookbook
• Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps by The Crumby Kitchen

Stow-and-Go Sides and Salads

• Authentic German Potato Salad by Sunday Supper Movement
• Avocado Bacon Loaded Pasta Salad by Daily Dish Recipes
• BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad by Cooking With Carlee
• Broccoli Slaw by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Jalapeno Popper Macaroni Salad by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Marinated Zucchini and Summer Squash by Caroline’s Cooking
• Old Fashioned Potato Salad by Life Tastes Good
• Roasted Cauliflower Salad by Family Foodie
• Southern Cornbread Salad by Gourmet Everyday
• Summer Quinoa Salad by Simple and Savory
• Watermelon and Avocado Salad by Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Whole30 Cauliflower Potato Salad by Bites of Wellness

Drinks and Desserts for Outdoor Dining

• Banana Snack Cake by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Blueberry Hand Pies by Our Good Life
• Cantaloupe Mint Lemonade by Palatable Pastime
• Cherry Poke Cake by Pies and Plots
• Chocolate Caramel Layer Bars by Turnips 2 Tangerines
• Chocolate Cherry No Bake Bars by The Freshman Cook
• Mixed Fruit Drink by Basic N Delicious
• Rice Krispie Sushi by NinjaBaker.com

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Orange Saffron Braided Brioche #BreadBakers

Sweetened with honey, this orange saffron braided brioche is wonderful freshly baked or even toasted and buttered for breakfast, day after day. Not that it lasts very long!

This month our Bread Bakers host is Gayathri from Gayathri's Cook Spot and she challenged us all to braid our dough before baking. I’ve made a few braided loaves, like my chocolate peanut butter braid and my cherry sweet bread twist, which are both long loaves. I decided I wanted to learn how to make a round woven loaf.

A quick search of YouTube turned up hundreds of hits. (Is there anything the denizens of YouTube do not know how to do?!) I ended up following this one.

Orange Saffron Braided Brioche

Ingredients
1 cup or 240 ml whole milk
1/2 cup or 115g butter, plus a little for greasing the mixing bowl
A pinch of saffron threads
Grated orange zest from 1 orange
2 packets or 14g dried yeast
1/4 cup or 80g honey
4 cups or 500g flour (you may need an extra few tablespoons of flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Before baking:
1/4 cup or 57g butter, melted and cooled

Optional – 1 tablespoon pearl sugar for decoration

Method
Warm your milk in a small pot or in the microwave in a microwaveable measuring up. Put in the pinch of saffron and the orange zest and leave to infuse.

Add in the butter and honey and warm again until the butter is melting. Around 120°F or 49°C should do it. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir. Within a few minutes, the yeast should activate and begin to bubble up.

Put your flour and salt in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the egg and begin to mix, using the dough hook. Pour in the yeast mixture and continue mixing till it comes together in a thick dough.

Knead for several minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy and pulls away from the sides of the mixer.

Form the dough into a ball and lightly grease the bowl with a little butter. Put the ball back in the bowl.  Cover with cling film and set in a warm place to rise for one hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and separate it into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long tube.

I took photos of each step of making these four tubes into a round braided loaf but honestly, stationary images are not that helpful because, at least for me, it’s hard to see what moves from frame to frame. So just watch this YouTube video. She makes it look very easy – and it is!

Put your round braid into a round cake pan, cover lightly with cling film and set in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

As you get to the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When rising time is up, gently pour the melted butter over the top of the orange saffron braided brioche and sprinkle on the pearl sugar, if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes. The internal temperature of an enriched bread is usually about 200°F or 93°C when baked.

The bottom should be lovely and golden as well.

Leave to cool before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely braided breads we have for you today. Many thanks to Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot for hosting!

• Artisan Herb Bread Braid by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Basic Challah Bread by Cook's Hideout
• Braided Bread with Candied Papaya Chunks by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Braided Garlic Bread by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Braided Herbed Breadsticks by Ambrosia
• Braided Rum & Raisin Buns by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Challah Bread by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Cherry Cheese Braid by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chicken Cheese Braided Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Nutella Braided Bread by Veena’s Vegnation
• Orange Saffron Braided Brioche by Food Lust People Love
• Scali Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spice and Herb French Braid by The Schizo Chef
• Two-Seed Potato Challah by What Smells So Good?
• Whole Wheat Challah Bread by Spill the Spices
• Whole Wheat Pizza Braid by Herbivore Cucina
• Whole Wheat Zopf Bread by I camp in my Kitchen
• Winston Knot Bread by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Zucchini Yeast Bread by Baking Sense

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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