Bacon Makes Parties Better

Every year my boyfriend has a summer party he calls 'Merica Day. He fires up the grill and this year the smoker and cooks meat for all his friends and family. The invitees bring whatever we'd like. Invariably, there is lots of stuff with bacon. My go-to potluck dish for summer parties is bacon wrapped jalapenos. This year, I decided to make a bacon dessert, too. I was very skeptical about this Bacon Blondie recipe I found on buzzfeed.com, but I do love sweet and savory, and bacon and peanut butter work well together, so why not?

For the bacon-wrapped jalapenos, keep in mind that the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is. Since I'm unsure of people's heat tolerance, I buy the biggest jalapenos I can find. Making sure you remove all of the seeds and the membrane inside the peppers cuts down on the heat as well. Occasionally, you'll still get burned but the cream cheese cools it off pretty well.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

1 package of bacon

15-20 jalapenos (1 for each slice of bacon)

2 bricks of cream cheese, softened at room temperature

tooth picks

Preheat your oven to 350. Set a rack inside a baking sheet to allow the peppers to drip. Or use your broiler pan!

It might be a good idea to wear latex gloves to prep the peppers. Slice your jalapenos in half lengthwise, scrape out all of the seeds and the membrane. (Feel free to leave some behind if you like them spicier.) Cut your pack of bacon in half. Fill each pepper half with cream cheese, wrap with half a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Bake for about 20 minutes or so, until the bacon is cooked and crispy and the jalapenos have softened. Try to save some for your guests.

We cooked them on the grill for the party and that works quite well, too. I neglected to get photos after cooking. Here's the before shot. I made 50 of them!

Bacon Blondies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Blondies:

2 sticks of butter (1 cup), melted

2 cups of brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

2 cups all purpose flour

7 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

9x13 inch pan

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and the brown sugar together until it's smooth. Add the eggs and the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk into the sugar/butter mixture a little at a time. Fold in the bacon.

Spread into your baking dish and bake 30-35 minutes until done and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup of creamy peanut butter (I used an unsweetened, just peanuts and a touch of salt variety)

3 cups of powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Milk

7 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled

Cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add the sugar in a bit at a time, then add the vanilla. Add some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Spread on cooled blondies and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

Taste and marvel!