These chocolate chip cookies from Tina Casaceli are especially good because of the sweet-smoky pieces of candied bacon packed into each one. Slideshow: More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 325°. On a foil-lined baking sheet, bake the bacon in a single layer for 10 minutes, until cooked through. Brush the bacon with 1/2 cup of the maple syrup, sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and bake for 20 minutes, until caramelized and crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour the fat into a measuring cup and refrigerate until solid, at least 30 minutes. Let the bacon cool completely, then coarsely chop.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the cream of tartar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add enough butter to the chilled bacon fat to make 1 cup and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined. Using a spatula, stir in the bacon, graham crackers, chocolate chips, toffee bits and cranberries. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Scoop 1/4-cup mounds of dough onto 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Gently flatten the cookies and bake for about 18 minutes, until golden at the edges and set in the centers; rotate the sheets halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely while you bake the remaining cookies.
