Name: Loaded Peanut Butter-Bacon Cookies
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 9 ounces (255 grams) bacon , cut into ½-inch pieces; 2¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon table salt; ¾ teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup packed (7 ounces/198 grams) light brown sugar; 12 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted; ½ cup (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract; 1½ cups Reese's Pieces

Why This Recipe Works

For these cookies, we started with a simple and easy-to-make cookie dough base—of flour, melted butter, brown and white sugars, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt—that would taste great on its own. From there we added Reese's Pieces and cooked chopped bacon to jam-pack these large, hearty cookies.

Before You Begin

Underbaking the cookies ensures that they remain chewy once cool.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until crispy, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to paper towel–lined plate and let cool completely. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in bowl.

Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat brown sugar, melted butter, and granulated sugar on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.

Reduce speed to low. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until mostly incorporated but some streaks of flour remain, about 30 seconds. Add Reese's Pieces and bacon and mix until evenly distributed throughout dough, about 30 seconds.

Divide dough into sixteen 2½-ounce (71-gram) portions, about ¼ cup each. Divide any remaining dough evenly among dough portions. Roll dough portions between your wet hands to make dough balls.

Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets, 8 balls per sheet. Using your hand, flatten dough balls to ¾-inch thickness.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until centers of cookies are puffed and still very blond, 8 to 10 minutes. (Cookies will seem underdone but will continue to bake as they cool.) Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Using spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.