Chocolate-Topped Peanut Butter-Bacon Bars

What did you make for Super Bowl Sunday?  We made a recipe that Hubby found on the Betty Crocker website: Chocolate-Topped Peanut Butter-Bacon Bars.  I don't know what exactly he was Googling for, but this is where he landed.  :)

Yes, you read it right.  Chocolate + Peanut Butter + Bacon.  Why not.  Believe it, they make a lovely combination....and bonus, this recipe is pretty darn easy to put together.

  

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons maple-flavored syrup
• 1 egg
• 10 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° and spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the cookie mix, oil, maple syrup and egg until a soft dough forms.
3. Reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon for garnish.
4. Stir the remaining bacon and peanuts into the dough and then press the dough evenly into the greased pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove from oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, and return it to the oven for 1 minute.
7. Remove it from the oven and immediately spread the chocolate out over the top and then sprinkle the reserved 1/4 cup of bacon over the melted chocolate.
8. Cool completely, about 1 hour or until chocolate is set, and then cut into squares of your desired size.
9. Keep any leftover bars in the refrigerator (they do contain meat, after all).

REVIEW:

It's certainly an odd combination, and not one that many people would think of, but we liked these.  Of course, we are bacon fanatics and also love weird foods, but even the friends whose Super Bowl party we brought them to liked them (they ate 2 or 3 bars each, I think).  One even commented that it was a perfect combination of salty bacon and sweet peanut butter creaminess, and that the hardened chocolate gave just the right snap on top.  I personally didn't think that the peanut butter flavor came through strongly enough, and so if we make these again, perhaps I will add some actual peanut butter, or make the bars/brownies from scratch rather than using the bagged mix, so as to get a better flavor profile.