Me, me, me, me, me
Filed Under Food & Wine
That’s what Christmas means to me.
As does bacon. And cookies. Bacon.
Bacon.
But in the spirit of the holidays, I have decided to let this season be a little bit about you too. Thus, I am giving each and every one of you a very very special gift: Lard Cookies (aka Swedish Ginger Cookies). Well, a recipe for lard cookies. You can cook them yourselves.
The magic of these cookies lies in the fact that one uses cooled bacon grease in place of butter. Those smokey, porkie flavors - along with the savory-sweet spiciness of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and molasses - is a combination that is loved by vegans (I forget to tell them and by then they’re three to four cookies in) and meat-eaters alike. This little gem of a cookie will not fail you this holiday season. So roll up your sleeves, toss aside that butter, and get to frying! With two pounds of bacon left over to snack on, well, you can just thank me later.
(Adapted from Nelle Branson in the “Trinity Episcopal Church Recipe Book,” 1982 Edition.)
3/4 cup bacon fat, cooled from 1.5-2 pounds Oscar Mayer bacon.
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for dusting cookies
4 tablespoons dark molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. In food processor fitted with metal blade, combine all ingredients. Spin until dough forms.
2. Chill the dough in refirgerator for a few hours.
3. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Drop the dough in 1-tablespoon lumps, form into balls, roll in sugar, space 2 inches apart and press flat with fingers. Bake in oven 10-12 minutes until dark brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, transfer to baking rack to finish cooling.
MMmmmmmmm. Pair with a mulled wine made with a meaty syrah or zinfandel. Or simply enjoy these delightful little bits of heaven with a nice old-fashioned glass of cold milk.
Lastly, the Happiest of holidays and May god bless us one and all!
Comments
2 Responses to “Me, me, me, me, me”
Leave a Reply
Beth that is just wrong feeding those to vegans, you have the same sense of humor as my best friend daryl! He would think feeding lard cookies to Vegans funnier that heck I can see him laughing right now! I bet they are good though and I am not a vegan..?
Hey…u misspelled philadelphia