Cherry Wood Smoked Bacon-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Alright, so as you all know my latest obsession is bacon-chocolate chip cookies and last week I promised you I would try to prefect them – while I have no yet decided on the perfect recipe I have learned a lot.  For one – let the bacon sit in the dough for a while.  The rest time will soften up your bacony bits as well as intensify their flavor.  Also, the sugar used is important.  Yes, sugar is sweet and so are cookies but the role sugar plays in baking is more complex than that: it adds volume, tenderness, texture, color, and acts as a preservative.  I wanted fluffy gooey cookies so I used a lot of dark brown sugar which attracts moisture (more so than light) and reduces gluten content.  Because there is less gluten the batter is lighter and therefore will rise more when baked.  I know it sounds crazy, maybe it is crazy, but you seriously need to try folding bacon into your cookies – it is a surprising and wonderful combination.

Ingredients

½ c unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 c dark brown sugar

½ c white sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

2 c all-purpose flour

¾ t baking soda

1 t salt

9 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

8 oz cherry wood smoked bacon, fried and chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In another bowl whisk the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together.

4. With a wooden spoon stir half the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until incorporated, add the rest of the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until fully combined and wonderfully sticky.

5. Add the bacon and chocolate chips, stir.

6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

7. Bake 12 minutes or until the center is set and the cookies are a deep golden brown.

8. Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Natural Blonde Ale

Natural Blonde Ale

            For me blonde ales are a meh beer, something to turn to at the end of a hot day (although it is more likely I will reach for an IPA).  For some reason, however, this style has the reputation for being the penultimate American beer.  Blondes are very approachable (I’m talking beer fellas) and are often medium to light in body with a clear crisp finish and a medium level of hops balanced by a slight malty sweetness.

            The Natural Blonde pours a deep golden blonde with a quickly dissipating head that leaves rings along the glass as it settles.  I found that this beer, in particular, was a steady drink.  I did not become bored of it, my nose filled with the scent of ginger and citrus, nor did I feel the need to think much about it as I drank.  There are subtle notes of grass and a slight floral quality but in the end it rather fit the generic description of a blond ale only with more hops and gusto than most.  The light carbonation made the flavors sit high in the palate, elevating them above the flavor of whatever you are eating.  In its own category I would give the Natural Blonde a B+.   

Beer: Natural Blonde

Serving Type: Tap

Style: Blonde Ale

ABV: 4.6%

Score: B+

The People's Pint

The People's Pint

            The People’s Pint is a local bar/restaurant/microbrewery located in the charming town of Greenfield, MA.  They describe themselves as:

“The People's Pint is founded with a commitment to simplicity and a reliance on self and the local community. The Company produces and provides fresh beers, flavorful sodas, and great food in a comfortable atmosphere which encourages respect for people and our environment.”

Which definitely puts them on my radar.  I have been to The People’s Pint before, once when I was too young to drink, so I was very excited to go back and have the full experience.  The interior is dark but cozy rather than seedy.   In Boston this establishment would quickly turn into one of those dreaded hipster hangouts.  A place for young men and women with “ironically” matching oversized and unfashionable outfits (or is it fashionable since everyone is wearing the same thing?) somehow accumulate in one place to discuss their disillusionment with society. 

The Bar

            While there is a prevalence of plaid among the patrons the people darning the garments are more the farmer types, or townies,  or families with young children (yes, they even have their own play corner). 

Kiddie Play Corner

The customers are definitely a conglomerate or people touching on all walks of life.  This charectoristic makes The People's Pint a great family place, a good date destination, and an excellent way to unwind at the end of the day. 

Looking at the board behind the bar

In house beers, sodas, and beer cocktails

I notice that while all of their beer is made in house (they do not insult our taste by offering up pints of Bud Heavy or PBR) they also make all of their own sodas and have a selection of beer cocktails.  I decide to start out with the most popular brew: Farmer Brown, while I wait for a table.  A man with a chest length beard and knit ski cap pulls the tap and places the beer before me - without a word.  I obnoxiously take pictures of him.  He continues to ignore me. 

Bartender with a sunny disposition

The beers here are absolutely fantastic, they are unique and there is something romantic about drinking your beer at the source.  I almost prefer the wait, using the time to sip happily on my beer and watch the people around me interact.  Once seated I look over the menu. It boasts many American/English bar classics: hearty soups, wings, burgers, and sausages but there are also a few wild cards such as green Thai curry and peanut noodles.  The food reflects the kind of hodgepodge of customer base one expects here – the only unifying feature?  Along with good beer we get damn good food. 

I like a burger with my beer but I switched it up... a bit, ordering the squealer.  Get this.  The squealer is a burger made of Shelburne grass-fed beef and, wait for it, house-made bacon ground together served on a bun with all the usual fixings and chipotle mayonnaise.  I decided I should, since I am going local and all, wash down my burger with a pint of 100% local ale.  Nothing bad can happen in this scenario.  Nothing. 

A few years back I actually visited Shelburne farm, a delightful family run farm with all sorts of magnificent cows, chickens, and some of the best jerky I have ever tasted.  The care they put into their animals must translate into something special, and it did.  You have not had a burger until you have ground it up with bacon, do not try to argue this point.  You have not had a burger.  The squealer was rich, packed with flavor – yes the meat penetrated through the chipotle mayo and the onion and tomato and mustard and lettuce and ketchup and cheddar.  It left all of the condiments behind in an operatic production of flavor that left you only a little bit shell-shocked at the conclusion.

The Squealer: Shelburne grass-fed beef and house-made bacon ground together.
Served with cheddar, roasted potatoes and chipotle mayonnaise.

Steak and Stout Pie: A hearty stew of Shelburne grass-fed beef simmered
in the Oatmeal Stout with local root vegetables and a flaky pastry crust.

The 'no bones" Burger: House made veggie patty.

Special: Lam Dahl (locally sourced and pastured lamb)

After that burger I had the bug.  I needed more bacon.  More sweet, smoky, fatty bacon.  Well, the People’s Pint obliged.  I was one and a half bacon-chocolate chip cookies deep when I finally realized I should probably take a picture of these disks of gooey perfection to share with you.  They were positively Shakespearian.    

Bacon-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Expect many attempts to recreate these cookies in the near future. 

            The People’s Pint is one of those wonderful havens from the world, be it the quiet of the country or, as in my case, the noise and overcrowding of the city.  They remain true to their convictions and, because of this, they are able to share a wonderful product with their patrons.  It remains one of my favorite pubs and will continue to do so.  

People's Pint: 100% Local

People's Pint: 100% Local

            When you go to a brewery, you must try the seasonal beers.  Did you hear me?  I will say it again, you must try the seasonal beers.  This season at The People’s Pint they have a new and exciting beer called “100% Local Ale”.  The description reads:

"The People's Pint is super proud to announce our 100% Local Ale. It's made with Barley grown in Hadley & Wheat grown in Belchertown; both malted by Valley Malt in Hadley. Four Star Farms in Northfield grew the Cascade and Nugget Hops and The People's Pint Brewery mixed it all together to make Massachusetts' first 100% Local Ale. Please enjoy."

            And honestly, this green, locally sourced, way of thinking is something to be very proud of.  The beer pours golden amber with a short, quickly dissipating head.  It has a strong smell of ginger and lemon that carries over into the flavor.  It is crisp with a very strong wheat presence, almost yeasty.  The local American hops impart a zesty citrus flavor to this gloriously balanced and hoppy beer.  This is truly a unique and honest beer, but not very complex, a definite must try but maybe not a mission brew.  I give it a B+ for concept and taste. 

Beer: 100% local

Serving Type: Tap

Style: Ale

ABV: 5.0%

Score: B+         

People's Pint: Oatmeal Stout

People's Pint: Oatmeal Stout

           Another brew from the People’s Pint – their Oatmeal Stout is worth blogging about.  Oatmeal Stouts are a relatively new indulgence of mine, largely because it was a style not usually commercially distributed - but now more and more breweries are producing fantastic beers in this style.  This does not mean that it is a new technique.  In fact, oats were commonly added to beer in medieval Europe – but the craft largely died out until a resurgence at the tail end of the nineteenth century.  Oatmeal Stouts are traditionally big in body and unbelievably smooth due to the addition of oats, which also impart a smidgen of sweetness.  Other than this, however, I find that Oatmeal Stouts are more unique to the brewery and not to the style of brew – they are exciting because you have a general idea of what to expect (and no, Oatmeal Stouts do not taste of oats) but you are always surprised!

            People’s Pint did a good job on their Oatmeal Stout.  It pours a deep brown, almost black, with a foamy head that sits back and becomes denser rather quickly.  It has an interesting nose: butter and wood and an earthy sweetness.  The first few sips have a strong espresso and chocolate presence.  There are strong hops and toasted bread behind each taste and a smokiness that takes up shop in the back of your throat at the finish.  The carbonation is very present; it cascades over the top of your tongue and froths up into your gums.  This brew is primarily bitter with only a very faint sweetness with a buttery creaminess cut by a dry powdery palate: definitely a study in balances.      

Beer: Oatmeal Stout

Serving Type: Tap

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 5.1%

Score: B-