So it seems I have jumped on the bandwagon with both feet. Except maybe I never got off the bandwagon in the first place. Confused? Let me explain. I recently said that I was not down with bacon in sweets, despite the growing trend among foodbloggers. I believe my exact words were “I am not ready to grant bacon a place at the dessert table”. But here’s the thing – I have always been down with bacon and peanut butter. I know that to many, this is a strange combination, but I’ve been eating it together since I was a little girl. My parents used to make us grilled peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, the ultimate in greasy, salty goodness. Not often, mind you, but on special occasions, and I loved them. I loved how the peanut butter got all melty from the heat, and the way the salty smokiness of the bacon mingled with the salty sweetness of the peanut butter. Heaven on a plate.
I recently got thinking about a peanut butter blondie of sorts, made with peanut flour. And I suppose all of the bacon/dessert posts I’ve been seeing finally broke down my defenses. Because I suddenly really wanted to put bacon in my peanut butter bars. It was more than just a passing fancy, it was visceral. I NEEDED to put bacon in my peanut butter bars. I needed to see if I could somehow recreate that childhood love of peanut butter and bacon together, in a dessert. A low carb, gluten free dessert, to be exact. With a layer of chocolate ganache, of course, because what is a peanut butter blondie without a layer of chocolate?
So I guess all of this is to say that I get it now, this trend of adding bacon to sweet foods. I’ve always loved bacon and peanut butter together, and I’ve always loved peanut butter in sweet foods, so it didn’t take a huge leap of logic to get to this combination in a dessert item. I am not quite ready to add bacon to my apple pie or my ice cream though. I may get there, who knows? I am obviously not immune to the suggestions of my fellow bloggers. Oh, the power of suggestion!
The Results: Overall, these bars were quite good. But the bacon didn’t stand out as much as I had hoped. I wanted to be swept off my feet by the bacon and peanut butter combo. I wanted to be beat about the head with memories of my favourite childhood sandwich. Instead, I got a lovely peanut butter and chocolate bar with the occasional taste and crunch of bacon. I think it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations, despite having 8 pieces of crumbled bacon in it.
Next time, I might increase the amount of bacon but I might also switch out the coconut oil for butter. I used coconut oil because I liked it so much in my Cranberry Walnut Chocolate Chip cookies. But it does have something of a presence on its own, and I think that might have played a part in overpowering the bacon. Bacon should never be overpowered, wouldn’t you agree?
Peanut Butter and Bacon Bars
Bars:
1 1/3 cups peanut flour
1/4 cup erythritol
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
8 (or more) pieces cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
20 drops stevia extract
1/4 cup almond milk
Chocolate Glaze:
5 tbsp butter
1/4 cup powdered erythritol
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
1/4 cup cocoa powder
For the bars, preheat the oven to 325F and grease an 8×8 pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut flour, erythritol, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Stir bacon.
In a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl, melt peanut butter and coconut oil or butter together.
Add oil mixture, eggs, vanilla and stevia to peanut flour mixture and stir well to combine. Add almond milk and stir thoroughly.
Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake 18 to 24 minutes, or until top is set and edges are light golden. Cool in pan.
For the glaze, melt butter and erythritol together in a small saucepan, stirring until erythritol dissolves. Add chocolate and cocoa and stir until smooth. Spread over top of cooled bars and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
Serves 20. Each bar has 9.9g of carbs, but only 5.1g if you subtract erythritol.
Pretend Chef says
I've had bacon cookies before and was on the fence about them. I think these would be a great treat to try sometime and see if another approach would grant me a ticket on that bandwagon.
Three-Cookies says
Very interesting. I have never tried bacon in a sweet form – now I am curious. I might try making a bacon chip cookie!
A Thought For Food says
Low carb, high fat… I love it! I know the hubs would love these!
mrstseats says
Oh my goodness these sound heavenly! I made bacon chocolate cupcakes and thought they were fantastic, but the addition of peanut butter – now that could just be quite perfect. My bacon-loving husband would gobble these up! Thanks for sharing!
Angela@RecipesFromMyMom says
I tried chocolate dipped bacon and was pleasantly surprised so I'm intrigued with your bars. Your childhood sandwich sounds fab too.
Angie's Recipes says
Bacon and peanut butter! That's a killer combination! I love those bars.
sara826 says
These look super fantastic! Thanks!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
I've been hesitent to jump on the bacon bandwagon, but I am tempted! Your bars look terrific even if they didn't get all the bacon impact you hoped for.
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
Never say never, it always comes back to back you. But in this case, I'd bite right back! 😉
Ott, A. says
What a creative twist on an old favorite!!!
Nanabella says
For the glaze, do you mean 2 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate or something sweetened like Lindt 70%?
Charlie @ SweetSaltySpicy says
I would never have thought of the peanut butter & bacon combo! Might give it a try!
Karen says
Love these! I'm guilty of being obsessed with bacon desserts lately, so these are right up my alley. Too bad they weren't as bacon-y as you'd hoped, but they still look wonderful! I don't think I'd have any problem eating several.
DeniseB says
Oh this sounds wonderful! I grew up on peanut butter and bacon on toast sandwiches so I have been looking for a bacon sweet thing with peanut butter and here it is on your lovely blog.
Thanks! Denise
http://dinner-with-deniseb.blogspot.com/
RavieNomNoms says
What a creative idea!! I just made peanut butter blondies too, but without the bacon…now I am kicking myself that I didn't haha…looks great!
Carolyn says
Thank you, Nanabella, for catching that. I meant unsweetened chocolate. I've corrected it!
Sandra says
I have to be honest here, I never had bacon with anything sweet:)) but bacon with peanut butter..hmm I guess it would work well! Your bars look wonderful and really tasty! Maybe I'll give them a try soon!
Cooking Rookie says
They look so pretty! I'm "stumbling" this one 🙂
Jennifurla says
Oh they are so pretty, love the flecks of bacon. I have yet to try bacon in my dessert.
Susie Bee on Maui says
oh you are very bad! I have resisted the trend too but feel my resistance waning.
Parsley Sage says
Grilled peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. You have the best parents ever.
Love these. Really love. Like, I want to make out with them. Thank you SO much for sharing.
Alicia says
Bacon and Chocolate have always appealed to me…not enough to try it, but in the back of my mind it's always been there.
I'll have to try this recipe because it sounds wonderful and the picture…yummy! I see that bacon in there. Thanks for posting this.
Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking says
Carolyn, these look amazing! Just after visiting Texas did I realize that the chocolate-bacon combo was a big deal, and now I'm hooked! What a yummy dessert. Great job!
Sugar Free Low Carb says
What an interesting combination. I never would have thought of adding the bacon.
Magic of Spice says
I keep waiting for my boys to come up with a bacon loaded sweet…they are bacon fiends 🙂
Steph says
Oh girl, you just became my new hero! This recipe is rockin'!!
Shannon says
You never fail to make my mouth water! These look SO good. I will eat bacon in almost anything.
Evan @swEEts says
I really want to try these! I discovered peanut butter and bacon sandwiches at the beach last year and let me tell you.. delicious! I can only imagine with some extra bacon these would be fantastic!
Natalie says
haha these look so great!!! what a recipe =) (eaten with bananas theyd be like elvis bars!)
Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy says
Bacon and peanut butter sound a yum combination.I think my hubster would love these a lot.Sweet treats and low carb? that's perfect.
Brittany says
umm delish?!! I just had a candied bacon ice cream sandwich…turned my world upside down!
freeeatsfood.com says
Oh wow. You had me at the grilled peanut butter and bacon sandwiches! Unfortunately we are a peanut free household now (due to my son's allergy) but I may need to adapt these with almond flour and my new favorite almond butter! I'm a first time visitor….lovely blog and great recipes.
Nami @ Just One Cookbook says
Peanut butter & bacon! Totally got my FULL attention. I've never tried bacon in the sweets but I guess saltiness from bacon will match with the sweetness? Everyone says it's yummy and I hope to get to try one day. I'm very curious now!
Marsha @ The Harried Cook says
oooh! I would do pretty much anything for a piece of this right NOW! I love bacon in dessert… this would be so good! I am book marking this… Thank you for sharing!
Lizzy says
I will probably be the last to jump on this bandwagon…but you've got me thinking 🙂 I love bacon and I love peanut butter cookies…so who knows? You may have swayed me to try these…off to check your other bacon post~
Lizzy says
Oops…my bad…food buzz had me confused (doesn't take much here :))
chocoamylatte says
Anything with bacon in it sounds good to me!
Kate from Scratch says
I've never heard of putting bacon and peanutbutter together. But, they're both salty, so that part makes sense. Bacon DOES make everything better (this coming from a vegetarian, but i've heard ALL about from the boys). I think it's an undoubted success. Trendy? Maybe…but all that matter is delicousness. 🙂 Great post!
Kate@Diethood says
Oh my gosh, I would have 10 bars! Holy mother…this sounds soooo good! I'm telling you, Carolyn…if you were my cook, I would be more than happy to do a low carb diet.
Lindsey says
I haven't quite fallen into the bacon trend yet… but it does intrigue me. 🙂 Nonetheless, these bars look scrumptious! Chocolate and peanut butter – you can't beat it!
briarrose says
Mmmm….bacon…such a neat combo. Maybe a little crumbled bacon garnish on the top to make the bacon flavor pop a bit more….and yes I giggled typing bacon garnish. 😉
Maria says
Great bar recipe!
Lisa @ Tarte du Jour says
Very intriguing! I need to jump on the bacon in dessert band wagon too… I can see how the sweet and salty would work well together. Your brownies look delicious! I have to say that Denny's add (bacon on a sundae) on the front of Foodbuzz creeps me out.
Tiffany says
I don't eat bacon … but I imagine that these bars were to die for!!!
Linda says
This idea is totally new to me, but I bet I would love it.
ris (In Good Taste) says
Thi is so different and I would love to try it
Michael Lewicki says
This is genius! Low-carb, high-flavour. And the different tastes jumping off the tongue would be too much to take. So good!
Becky says
Peanut butter, bacon, and chocolate, is a great combo. I'll have to try it. Your bars look so delicious.
Thanks for sharing.
Jessica @ Dishin' About Nutrition says
Wow these look phenom!
Jill@MadAboutMacarons says
Carolyn, I love it when you jump on the bandwagon and with both feet 😉 They look incredible. Lovely combo and the fact they're gluten free, low carb and with erythritol – who could ask for more? You're amazing.
Lynn @ I'll Have What She's Having says
PB & bacon. Interesting. I need to try this!
beth ebin says
I have done the bacon in chocolate thing. I make a killer caramel bacon brownie! But peanut butter and bacon is new! I will have to try this
Matthew "mmwine" Horbund says
I never jumped on the Bacon Bandwagon. I just don't think it's my favorite pork.
That said, I can see the allure of the peanut butter and the salty bacon with chocolate.
And as ways, your photos are top notch!
Elle says
Is there anything as beautiful as bacon in dessert? I'm not sure. Because those are gorgeous!
Erin says
Me, again! Can you tell I'm slightly peanut obsessed?! Do you think these would still be good sans bacon altogether? I just don't think I can DO it with chocolate (don't get me wrong, I'm the one that loads up at the bacon tray at a buffet!).
Carolyn says
Honestly, Erin, I think these would be just as good without the bacon, because the bacon flavour never really came through, to my chagrin. So yes, go ahead and make without…glad to have a fellow peanut butter lover!
Erin says
Okay – did it, and YUMMO. You can see my final product over here, with kudos to you of COURSE:
http://loopy.ca/5-carb-peanut-butter-chocolate-bars
Catherine H. says
Carolyn, would you be able to guess or remember whether this was made with full-fat or de-fatted peanut flour? I know you use both, and the recipe can change drastically depending on which is used. For instance, I subbed almond flour for the full-fat peanut flour in your chocolate donuts with peanut butter glaze and they worked beautifully. I would love to be able to do that here, but I guess it might not work if you used de-fatted or partially de-fatted peanut flour. Also, can you tell me which type you tend to use more?
W. Russell says
The taste of the bacon might come through better if you add a couple of drops of liquid smoke. I am going to give these a try. Soon.