I consider myself a pretty adventurous “foodie” type person, both in restaurants and in my own kitchen. Never one to shy away from trying new things, I’ve eaten a lot of foods that many would flee from. (Although, I do draw the line at bugs and things that are still moving! But, I think you get my drift.)

One recent food trend that I’ve had a hard time wrapping my taste buds around, however, is the gratuitous pairing of bacon with various dessert foods. Don’t get me wrong. I really like bacon – on a cheeseburger or lying next to some scrambled eggs. But, bacon cupcakes? Huh! How about some bacon ice cream? Um…I don’t think so. So, while I continued to read rapturous accounts of the love affair among bacon, butter, flour and sugar, I still remained unmotivated to jump on the crowded bacon desserts bandwagon. Until this past Super Bowl Sunday, that is.

My husband and I were invited to a Super Bowl Party, and of course, I couldn’t show up empty handed. I wanted to come up with something that a bunch of beer guzzling, chili eating sports fans would go for. I also wanted something that wouldn’t drip, run or spill. (All that beer guzzling can make you kind of sloppy.) I could have just baked some regular old chocolate chip cookies, but anyone could do that. I had to step it up a little. I have a reputation to maintain! (Oh, the pressure!)

I was scrambling for ideas, and then I thought, “What about bacon?”.

BACON! In chocolate chip cookies? Hmmm. Why not? It could work. And, it did.

This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.