Peanut Butter Bacon Brownie Bites

I kind of chuckle when I think about brownies; they were the second food that I ever tried to make. I still remember being in Brazil as a missionary deciding to make them for a few Brazilians, And I remember being surprised when I ended up with scrambled eggs instead of brownies (How is that possible, you ask? Trust me, I found a way). But I also remember playing with the recipe and I remember it as the first recipe that I actually felt confident making for other people.

They’re a kind of symbol for me, really. A reminder of where I started and of where I am now. I guess that’s why I feel almost bittersweet rise when I think of posting a new brownie recipe. But they’re also a reminder of where I can go when I put my mind to it.

But that’s enough reminiscing. You’re all here for the brownies! Not just any brownies, of course. Oh no, that would be far too simple. So grab your chocolate, prep your oven, and grease those pans — we’re making peanut butter bacon brownie bites!

What’s In It?

Well, as with any brownie, we’re using flour, oil, eggs, a lick of salt, some sugar and chocolate. And we’re using bacon and peanut butter. No surprises there — they’re right in the title. But brownies taste beautiful without any additions. So why bother with the peanut butter and the bacon? In a word: SCIENCE!

Chocolate provides the bulk of a brownies flavor, though the oil inevitably influences the final flavor. Part of what makes chocolate addictive is that underneath of the intense sweetness we’ve come to expect from it, there’s a very real bitterness, especially in bittersweet or dark varieties. That bitterness is what keeps us interested in the flavor and what keeps us coming back for more. And it is that bitterness that motivates the use of both peanut butter and bacon — both of which are very salty.

Salt has a tremendous capability to limit the amount of bitterness that we taste in any given food product. It also strongly increases our tongue’s ability to perceive other tastes — including sweetness. That’s very important here — even though we’re adding salt and some lightly savory flavors, we’re actually making the brownies taste far sweeter than they would normally. Not only that, but the savory flavors that we’re introducing keep the brownies flavor from becoming one dimensional or boring. In fact, I think that it makes them much more interesting than pure chocolate does.

You can make other additions to brownies as well — I particularly like candied orange. But we’ll cover that in other recipes.

Is It Hard To Make?

Not at all! Just make sure that you

1. Mix the oil and the sugar before adding the eggs
2. Melt the chocolate carefully. If you try to just melt it all in one fell swoop of microwave might, then you’ll end up burning the chocolate, creating a product that can’t be used in the brownies. The chocolate will seize, separate and become very dry. Aside from that, it’ll be so bitter that you really won’t want to use it for anything, much less these brownies.
3. Blend the peanut butter and the chocolate carefully and until everything is smooth.

The full recipe, as always, follows, but these guidelines should keep you safe and keep your brownies delicious.

And that’s all! A last statement for anyone who thinks that these are “man brownies” — I just made these brownies this week for a bridal shower — nearly every single morsel of them got devoured. So stop being sexist with food and enjoy these!