Bacon seems to be the flavour thing right now – bacon and caramel donuts, bacon microwave popcorn, bacon jam, bacon vodka cocktails. I also have a bacon haiku on a sticky on my computer courtesy of my daughter.

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And my nephew told me bacon is the gateway meat for vegetarians. So, I decided it was time to try my grandmother’s oatmeal cookie recipe again.

You can read the longer story on my other blog where I write about Canadian food memories – and where there’s a picture of my grandmother.

She didn’t call them bacon oatmeal – I just put that in for the benefit of the pesky Google keyword crawler. She called them, appropriately, Rolled Oats Cookies because that’s what they are. She simply used bacon fat instead of butter. It’s what she had.

So get saving (in a tin; pouring hot fat into glass yields expected results). All you need is a 1/2 cup of bacon grease; the recipe can easily be halved.

You can use grocery store bacon but better bacon makes better cookies, more smoky. Any real butcher will have some. Here are my sources (some too busy with smoking meat to build websites):

3P Meats / Moccia’s / Jolly Meats  N. Van 604-929-7937 / The British Butcher  N. Van & Coquitlam  604-985-2444 / European Butcher Boy  Burnaby  604-522-4941

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Bacon Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup bacon fat, creamed
• 1 c. white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. raisins (cut is best)
• 3 c. rolled oats (quick cooking; 1/2 cup less oats for moister cookie)

Cream cold fat, mix in sugar. Add in eggs and cream until fluffy (if fat gets too soft, place in fridge for 10 min.).

Mix together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir  thoroughly into sugar mixture.

Mix in oats and raisins. It’s a stiff dough.

Using a dessert spoon, drop onto cookie sheets 1″ apart. Flatten with a fork (dipped in water each time to prevent sticking). If too crumbly, shape into rough balls with your hands, then press.

Bake 325F for 8-10 min. Cool on rack. I guess you could serve with a bacon caesar.

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