Depression Era Oatmeal BACON FAT Cookies

did your Grandma keep a coffee tin on the back of the stove for BACON GREASE?

mine did.  she used that darn bacon grease for everything. butter and fancy oils weren't used for "saute-ing" in those days...it was more like frying. AND...butter was expensive!, bacon fat was almost a freebie.  besides,  i don't think my Grams knew what the term "saute" meant...

 but what ever it was, when Grandma made it...it always tasted better.  

i think it was all in the BACON FAT!

my Grandma lived 'til 108 !

i found this recipe kind of out of necessity... i, for some unknown reason, have accumulated loads of delicious BACON FAT ! little tupperwares tucked neatly on the bottom shelf of the overcrowded fridge hiding in the way back so as not to be discovered by the fridge police.  i had to find a use for it...

i knew if i already put bacon IN the cookie, why couldn't i use the fat as butter...just one animal fat for the other....because we all know...

butter IS fabulous...but...BACON FAT IS PHENOMENAL !!!

photos shown are with roasted-salted peanuts, peanut butter chips and flax

DEPRESSION ERA OATMEAL COOKIES

i found the recipe HERE at Tasty Kitchen

 posted by Adrianna and Caroline at A Cozy Kitchen

i adapted it ever so slightly

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp maple extract if adding pecans instead of chocolate

3/4 cup BACON FAT...room temp...SEE NOTES*

2 cups old fashion rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour...i used white whole wheat

4 pieces of bacon...HA !!!...I USED 8-10 slices cut or crumbled into fairly large pieces

i added 1/2 (give or take) cup mini chocolate chips in my 1st batch...

2nd time i used 1 cup lightly toasted pecans
3rd batch was with salted-roasted Virginia peanuts, 1/3 cup p-nut butter chips and 1 heaping Tbsp of flax seeds

preheat oven to 375 F
in a mixer combine the sugars and bacon fat until fluffy and light in color

*NOTE...i think it could handle almost 1 while cup of fat....also, i refrigerate the fat after cooking the bacon to solidify...then remove it and bring it to room temp...this works better from my experience than using it in it's liquid oil/fat form

add the egg and vanilla extract and combine well.

in a separate bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and spices

in the mixer add the oat/flour mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches and mix 'til just combined.  don't over mix, because you still need to add your goodies

stir or fold in your bacon and choc. chips or nuts or whatever...(cranberries a good add?)

 on ungreased or, i prefer parchment lined cookie sheet... make some round large tablespoon-walnut size balls and flatten slightly.   depending on how big you like your cookies will determine how flat...bake for  approx. 10 minuted or until done...i suggest doing a tester...all bacon fat is not equal and regulated like butter, so i say do a tester and check out how much your batch will spread.  also, the white whole wheat flour makes a hearty dough.

the pictures shown are of the cookies i added peanuts, peanut butter chips and a Tbsp of flax.  these are quite hearty cookies.  the dough seemed dry-ish and didn't really spread, so i flattened them with the bottom of a glass.  they turned out more of a crunchy cookie than chewy....DELICIOUS !

i've made these 3 times.  1st time was straight from the original recipe, then i started to change it up a bit with some spices and a little flax.  the sweet-savory factor is fabulous.  i prefer the strong flavor of apple wood smoked bacon fat, but any good bacon fat will do.

oh yeah...more notes... i like to cook my bacon in the oven on an aluminum lined cookie sheet.  half way through i pour off the fat and reserve in a heat proof tupperware...then continue cooking bacon until crispy...again pour off fat and reserve.

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