Maple Bacon Pancake Cookies

I tried another new cookie recipe for the holiday season (this year I am sharing Christmas cookies instead of Christmas drinks)!

I found this recipe online and was super excited to give it a try. It's a maple bacon pancake cookie! It used maple extract, which sent me on a bit of a quest to hunt down, but the results were so worth it. The cookies had an amazing flavor, and I was delighted that even my sister who normally doesn't enjoy "weird" flavors came back for seconds after trying one.

The only weird thing about the recipe was that the dough wasn't chilled, which seemed to result in the cookies being way too soft. Next time, I'd definitely chill the dough for an hour or two before baking.

Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 12-13 minutes

Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup Extra Fine Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon maple extract

2 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

6 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled (reserve bacon grease if desired)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
2. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat butter with both sugars. Add vanilla, maple extract and eggs; beat on low speed until just incorporated.
3. Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined. Fold in bacon crumbles and an optional splash of bacon grease.
4. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop dough into 16 very large dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. Leave space for cookies to expand.
5. Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes until cookies look puffy and just start to turn golden on top. Do not overbake!
6. Take cookies out even if they look like they’re not 100% done yet; they will finish setting as they cool.
7. Let cookies cool on the pan for a minimum of 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.