My first experience pairing chocolate with something salty happened when I was younger at a Chanukah party at my house. My friends brought dessert, and after such a filling meal, the prospect of fitting another course into my stomach was daunting, especially after seeing what they brought. A dense and dark flourless chocolate torte sat mockingly on our dining room table. However, I didn’t let my full stomach get in the way of having a piece.
It looked so good that I didn’t even take the time to grab a new plate, so I used my original, which was still litered with remnants of my dinner. After the first few bites of cake, I was jonesing from the richness. Now, the “balance of flavors conscience” inside my head craved salt. With one fell swoop of my fork, I gathered up a bite of chocolate torte and latke–the salty potato pancake–in one. It was actually a good combination, and the latke was just the thing to get down the rest of that cake.
Since then, I have tried sweet and savory combinations often, as they have risen in popularity. I am also a big fan of the Bacon Chocolate Bar at Vosges in New York.
The last time I was making chocolate chip cookies, I spotted a container of leftover rendered bacon pieces in my refrigerator. Since they were already cut up into small bits, I dumped them into the cookie dough along with some fleur de sel. After forming the cookies, I sprinkled them with some maple sugar and Australian Sea Salt and put them in to bake. At the end of their time in the oven, a heavenly smell enveloped the kitchen. It was the harbinger of delectablility; the cookies themselves were fantastic.
I will be tempted to make them again every time I reach for the chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I will be lucky to convince friends to eat them with me.
[...] getinmebelly made some Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies and they said they were delicious. I don’t know. What do you think? [...]
Definitely try them –they’re great