Bacon Fat Gingersnaps stacked on table next to a gift box

Bacon Fat Gingersnaps

December 18, 2016

Bacon Fat Gingersnaps snap with spicy ginger and clove, crackle with smoke and pop with molasses. Using bacon fat instead of butter sounds risky, but these knockouts are among the Beauties of the Year. For the richest flavors, buy the highest quality bacon available — your stomach will rejoice. Leave your snappy and crackling comments below. Thank you Julia Moskin of NYT Cooking for this expert recipe. See Julia’s original post.

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Ingredients

(26-28) 3" cookies
  • ¾ cup 150 grams 5.65 ounces rendered, cold bacon fat (from cooking 1 kilogram/2-2.5 lbs of high quality bacon), chilled
  • 1 cup 200 grams 7 ounces
  • ¼ cup 85 grams 3 ounces molasses or cane syrup
  • 1 1 1 egg
  • 2 cups 250 grams 8.85 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons 8 grams 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons 10 grams 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons 10 grams 2 teaspoons ground ginger or more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon 3 grams ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon 3 grams ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Render the Bacon Fat

  • Preheat the oven to 400F.
  • Set the oven rack in the upper third of the oven.
  • Line a baking tray with a liner or parchment paper.
  • Separate the bacon slices on the tray.
  • Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
  • Pour the existing bacon fat into a measuring cup and separate the slices of bacon, removing the slices that are very crispy or leaving the fatty slices on the tray.
  • Return the tray to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
  • Continue to pour off the fat and remove the crispy pieces until all the fat is rendered.
  • Strain the bacon fat through a fine sieve.
  • Pour 3/4 cup of bacon fat and set aside. Let the fat sit on the counter at room temperature or in the fridge until solid.
  • NOTE: Very often, depending on the quality of bacon you use, there will be a gelatinous layer that will sometimes settle at the top of the solid fat, or collect in pockets throughout the rendered fat. It is essentially liquid (like water or brine) that when cold, becomes a jelly. If you include this jelly in the cookie dough, the consistency of the dough and the baked cookies. Put simply, the dough will be loose and the cookies will melt instead of bake in the oven. It’s important that you only use the solid white fat when mixing the cookie dough.
Crispy bacon with the rendered fat.
Crispy bacon with the rendered fat.
  • Reserve remaining bacon fat for other purposes.

Mise en Place the Cookie Dough

  • What is mise en place and how could it benefit you? See The Finer Cookie’s post How to Mise en Place.
  • Measure into the bowl of the food processor, add the cold bacon fat, sugar, molasses, egg, flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cloves, cinnamon. ; See How to Weigh and Measure for more details.
Weighing molasses, egg and sugar in the food processor.
Weighing molasses, egg and sugar in the food processor.
Bacon fat after it’s cooled and no longer liquid.
Bacon fat after it’s cooled and no longer liquid.

Complete the Cookie Dough

  • Pulse the dry ingredients into the bacon fat/sugar mixture. Continue until a smooth batter forms.
Creating a smooth cookie dough in the food processor.
Creating a smooth cookie dough in the food processor.
  • Transfer the dough into a smaller bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
  • Set in the fridge for 2 hours or up to one week.

Forming the Cookies

  • Preheat the oven 350F.
  • Set the racks in the lower third and upper third of the oven.
  • Pour a thick layer of granulated sugar on a plate.
  • Measure 1 ounce/28 grams hunks of dough or scoop 1 tablespoon at a time.
Hunks of cookie dough, about 1 ounce each or 1 tablespoon.
Hunks of cookie dough, about 1 ounce each or 1 tablespoon.
  • Roll the dough into round balls, then roll the cookie balls into the granulated white sugar.
Rolling the cookies in granulated sugar.
Rolling the cookies in granulated sugar.
  • Set the round cookies on a tray about 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread.

Bake the cookies at 350F for 10-12 minutes

  • Bake the cookies at 350F for 10-12 minutes at 350F.
Baking the Bacon Fat Gingersnaps. The oven shot.
Baking the Bacon Fat Gingersnaps. The oven shot.
  • The cookies are done when they’ve flattened out a bit and firm just firm to the touch.
Gingersnaps are out of the oven.
Gingersnaps are out of the oven.
  • As they cool, they will firm up and become crunchy.
  • Cool completely on a rack, then store in an air tight container.
Bacon Fat Gingersnaps, The Finer Cookie.
Bacon Fat Gingersnaps, The Finer Cookie.

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