If there’s one thing that beats the smell of a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, it’s the smell of bacon.  Thanks to Torani, the well-known maker of flavoring syrups used by coffee houses and bars everywhere, you can now have your bacon and drink it too!

Here’s what Torani says about it’s “Bacon Syrup” on its website:

“Bacon enthusiasts will recognize the same savory, meaty flavor as authentic bacon in this salty, sweet syrup. Torani Bacon syrup adds savory bacon flavor to cocktails, lattes, sauces and more. Just add 1/2 – 1 oz. of syrup to a 6-8 oz. beverage, and enjoy this innovative new flavor from Torani.”

Now there’s no excuse for baristas everywhere to not offer bacon lattes, and bartenders everywhere have a new secret weapon in the battle for cocktail supremacy. Expect this syrup to start appearing soon in the many places where Torani is sold, but if you don’t want to wait, you can order it online right now for a mere $6.95 (with discounts for those buying in bulk).

(Thanks to Nicole for the tip, who got it from Consumerist, who got it from a very blasphemous post by Gizmodo.)

You love French toast with bacon, but goodness knows it doesn’t really work that well as a party dish, or as something to snack on while you’re driving.  Wouldn’t it be great if it could be as convenient as, say, a cupcake?

[photo: livejournal/sweetkisses0530]

This is one of the most popular items to ever emerge from the Ministry of Bacon kitchens.  It was a smash hit in its appearance at a recent Charm City Roller Girls roller derby bout, and it was the star attraction at one of our Bacon & Beer Happy Hour events at Bad Decisions in Baltimore.  At the time, when asked for the recipe, we could easily give people a link to find the cupcake instructions on a great blog called Bake and Destroy…but alas, that blog is gone for good.  The recipe for the maple glaze still exists at its original source on LiveJournal…but we figured it’s about time to give you both recipes together.

UPDATE:  Natalie of Bake and Destroy has informed us that the blog is indeed alive and well, at a new home on the web.  We’ve added a link to that site on our “Other Delicious Blogs” blogroll; check ‘em out for more delicioius recipes like this one!

First, the recipe for the French Toast Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted then cooled
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. maple extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking pan with paper liners.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Make sure the butter is cool or you’ll have scrambled eggs.
4. Whisk in maple extract and then alternate between whisking in flour mixture and milk. Make three additions of flour mix and two of milk. Beat until smooth.
5. Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and tops spring back when lightly touched.
6. Cool the cupcakes on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

And now, the recipe for the maple glaze!

Ingredients:

• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. butter, softened
• 3-4 tbsp. milk
• 1/2 tsp. maple flavoring

Directions:

1. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, maple flavoring, butter and milk.  (To make it even more maple-y, High Priestess Anna usually adds a decent amount of real maple syrup into the recipe.)
2. Stir well until the mixture has the consistency of a glaze.
3. Finally, cook up a ton of bacon till it’s nearly crunchy, then cut up the strips into teeny squares and sprinkle ‘em on top of the frosting. (If you like, you can cook the bacon till it’s crunchy and just crumble it, but that may not be as pretty.)

[photo: blogspot/sckain]

Yes, you read that title correctly.

Vera Lewis of Redondo Beach, California, has smashed through countless frontiers of deliciousness and gluttony to come up with the most fantastic bacon dish we’ve heard of in quite some time.  As the following video shows, it’s really easy to make.

In honor of his birthday, Randy Lewis gets to be the first one to try the final product.

From the sounds of Randy’s reaction, this creation turned out so well it makes you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. It’s also further proof that bacon is indeed a spectacular dessert ingredient, as it makes for a phenomenal fusion of salty and sweet.

So what’s next? What new dessert would you like to see with bacon in it?

Here’s yet more evidence that Baltimore is the bacon capital of the East Coast. This dish at the Golden West Cafe, known as “Elvis Pancakes” (or “Lisa Marie Pancakes” if you want a half order), is described as follows:

“Two enormous buttermilk pancakes with smoked, thick-sliced applewood bacon inside. Topped with sauteed bananas, honey, and peanut butter.”

The pancakes were huge and fluffy, the bananas were soft like little yellow clouds, and the peanut butter and honey mixed into a potion almost (but not quite) too sweet to bear. (Why they also gave us a side of maple syrup is beyond our comprehension.)

“But what about that bacon?” you ask. The bacon itself was spectacular; our High Priestess Anna thought it was a bit too smoky for her taste, but it was certainly high-quality bacon, well-cooked but still just chewy enough to allow the full flavor to come through. However…we had to admit, it was a bit out of place in the dish. It’s kind of like having William Shatner at a college house party: didn’t really fit in perfectly with everything else that was going on, but an awesome addition to the scene that you wouldn’t even think of turning away.

One of the things people know the least about Baltimore is that it sports one of the most diverse, creative and expansive dining scenes in America. Since we just happened to be based in “Charm City”, it’s only just that we take a moment now and then to highlight a couple of the area’s most impressive bacon dishes.

Baltimore may be known for its crab cakes and soft shell crabs, but it’s also a great place to get a burger, and there are two places that lead the debate over which burger is the city’s best: Hamilton Tavern and the Abbey Burger Bistro.

Hamilton Tavern, named after the northeast Baltimore neighborhood in which it’s located, isn’t a burger joint per se. In fact, there’s only one burger on their menu, but it’s so spectacular that it was named “Best Hamburger” in the Baltimore City Paper’s “Best of Baltimore” issue this year.  It’s called the “Crosstown Burger”, and in its standard form, it boasts locally-raised Black Angus beef, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a tangy horseradish cheddar.  That’s a pretty good burger so far, but the kicker is the add-ons:  For an extra dollar each, you can add a fried egg…or their unique sticky-spicy bacon, treated with brown sugar and some sort of hot pepper.  Those who know what they’re doing add both options.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in the popular southern neighborhood known as Federal Hill, there’s a newcomer in town that instantly built a huge following, and it’s known as the Abbey Burger Bistro.  Since this place obviously specializes in burgers, you’d expect them to come guns a-blazin’…and that’s exactly they do.  You can order one of their specialty creations or build one of your own, and the variety of meats and breads and toppings go on and on, from the usual suspects to items like white truffle oil and spicy crème fraiche.  But the signature burger that first got everyone’s attention is simply known as the “Peanut Butter Burger”: locally-raised Black Angus, smoked bacon, and creamy peanut butter.  A burger with bacon and peanut butter? Does that really work?  You’d better believe it.  You can taste the beef, the bacon and the peanut butter individually, while at the same time, they complement each other perfectly.

So how do you choose between two bacon burgers as spectacular as these?  You don’t.  You have one for lunch, and one for dinner.

Heston Blumenthal, owner and chef of the world-renowned restaurant The Fat Duck in a small U.K. village called Bray, shares how he defies conventions and expectations to make one of his most famous and unusual dishes.

Stephen Brockelman shared this classic Oscar Mayer ad that features “Wiener-Cheese-Bacon Roll-Ups”: presumably, a hot dog with a stripe of American cheese, wrapped in a spiraling slice of bacon. It’s not fancy, but it’s cheap, and it underscores that finding new and unusual ways to include bacon in a meal is nothing new.

Finally! We’ve been waiting for someone to make bacon cheese, something every good burger deserves!

Apparently, it’s available at Walmart (and we’ll confess, Walmart isn’t a place we usually consider a mecca for bacon goodness).

(via baconbaconbacon)

The Best Bacon Breakfast Burrito EVER

Bacon Today, long considered by the Ministry of Bacon as a highly-esteemed authority on what’s good in the world of bacony goodness, has figured out how to make the best bacon breakfast burrito in the universe. Click through for the images and play-by-play of this inspirational feat.

Fill a bacon cup with mac and cheese, or fill a bacon basket with salad! Click either picture below for instructions. (From Merriment Design…follow them on Twitter at @merrimentdesign.)