These are very decadent, especially when topped with bourbon caramel sauce! They are the perfect combination of sweet and salty and are a nice chewy bar that can be elevated further by topping with vanilla ice cream.

They are super easy to make and the only difficult part is waiting for them to cool long enough that you can cut them!

If you’ve never had candied bacon before, you’ll want to make extra to snack on. It’s super addicting! Just make sure that you use regular cut bacon, not thick cut. You’ll also want to make sure to line your baking sheet with foil as the sugar and bacon grease will create a cooked on mess. And if you’re not already cooking baon in the oven regulary, you probably will be after this! It’s much less mess in the oven and cooks more evenly and crispy. Another note on the candied bacon, it will cripy up further as the sugar cools, so make its criso enough before removing from the oven, but keeo that in mind. And definitley, DO NOT TOUCH the hot candied bacon! Let it cool before handling! The sugar will turn the baon into little molten stick of pork when it comes out of the oven. So be patient and let it cool. It’s still super delicious when its cool.

You can add dark, semi sweet or milk chocolate chips. Add nuts if you like too! If you add nuts, it’s best to toast them before folding into the batter. Its going to add an extra layer of flavor instead of just tossing the nuts in from the bag,

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Candied Bacon Blondies

Chewy blondies with chocolate chips and crumbled candied bacon

Course Dessert

Servings 16

Ingredients

• 5 slices regular cut bacon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (for bacon)
• 1 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp Vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup melted chocolate
• Bourbon caramel sauce (see receipe, if desired)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Line baking sheet with foil and place wire racks on top. Place bacon strips on top of racks and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake approx 20 minutes or until crispy. Allow to cool before handling. Once cool, chop.
• Adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• In a medium sized sautee pan, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Allow to continue to cook until milk solds begin to brown and there is a nutty aroma. Cool slightly before moving on.
• In a medium bowl, add the remaining brown sugar, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Add the browned butter and whisk until combined well. Allow to rest for at least two minutes and then whisk again.
• Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the browned butter add sugar mixture and combine. Fold in the chocolate chips and 2/3 of the chopped bacon.
• Make a foil sling using two sheets or rectangular foil for 13 x 9 baking pan. Foil should create handles on all four sides of the pan. Make sure corners are smooth to the pan. Grease foil well.
• Pour blondie batter in prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining chopped bacon.
• Bake approx 35 minutes, checking for firmness. Top will be dark brown and slightly puffed and will settle as they cool. Pick inserted should come out clean with crumbs attached.
• Allow to cool completely before removing from pan, approx 2 hours.
• Place on cutting board and trim off edges, (if desired).
• Drizzle with melted chocolate and then refridgerate until the chocolate has set before cutting.
• Top with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with bourbon caramel sauce

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Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Rich creamy caramel sauce, spiked with bourbon

Course Dessert

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup bourbon

Instructions

• In heavy bottom sauce pan, add water and sugar and cook over med high heat.
• Do not stir expect to combine ingredients.
• Cook approx 5-6 minutes or until syrup starts to turn amber in color.
• Once its a deep amber, remove from the heat and stir in heavy cream, cautiously. Caramel will bubble up. Add bourbon. Stir until combined. (you can use less bourbon if you want. This is a boozy caramel!)

  Return to heat and bring back to a boil for approx one minute. Mixture will be bubbly, but will pop as it cools and moisture escapes. Chill, or allow to cool down to room tempurate before using. Sauce will thicken upon cooling. Can be heated slightly before use.

See the thing of it is, that anyone can build a GREAT table to gather around. It doesn’t need to have fancy legs, or a dazzling finish. But what happens when you put your heart into a project like this is magical! Meals don’t need to be fancy, but they take on a special meaning when people you care about are gathered around.

The first table I build was a pretty simple design. I found pictures online, and copied and modified the ideas to accommodate the size of the table I wanted. My table design started out at a standard 6 foot table, and evolved into a 9 footer with benches. I know that sounds huge, but it’s not! It’s Perfect! Even if there are only a few people eating, there’s plenty of room for lots of plates of food and nice cold beverages. The bigger the table, the better the meals are that are served at it.

Once I got the table done, and it was getting used all the time, it then became apparent that I needed more outdoor cooking space. So the outdoor island was built. It is a necessity! Having a sink where I can rinse my hands either after gardening or while cooking is a blessing. And the counter space is required when using one of my grills. (Yes, I have a lot of grills!)

So maybe you don’t have the space for all of this, but that’s not what’s important. What IS important is making a space where you can disconnect, relax, and enjoy those people around you. And whether you cook, order food in, or throw a burger on the grill, spend time with your friends and family, and your home will become a place where people will want to come. At my house, we do no cell phones. If someone is spending time looking at their phone, we make them put it down. Tables are meant for conversations, and sharing, not searching.

Also, Since I LOVE cooking, having a table where I can serve a bunch of food is requirement!

So, build it and they will come! Or at least, buy a table that makes you happy and makes you want to gather around it. The times spent together don’t need to be holidays, they can be the daily moments that become special memories.

Enjoy!

Each project has special meaning. It’s either something that I’m creating, or its something that someone had ordered and that they have specific expectations for. There’s a lot of pressure in that!

Here are a few projects that I’ve recently done, with more to come very soon!

As I expand the library, I will also have a page for pricing and customization! I look forward to helping you create a piece that will be enjoyed for generations to come!

It rarely snows down here.  When it does, it is a major event. Like Armageddon, not like a celebratory event.  Grocery stores brace for impact as shoppers descend upon them to grab loaves of bread, gallons of milk, eggs, and of course beer and wine.  For what could amount to an inch of the fluffiest snow, that will likely melt within 24 hours, you would think people are preparing for a nuclear strike.  Us Northern-borns, snicker at the fact that the whole state shuts down if there is even snow in the forecast.  But the truth is, I don’t mind when it snows, down here.

When we have a snow day and get a spontaneous day off from work, that means I get to relax.  I can look out my window and see the beauty of that falling snow while enjoying a toasty fire and enjoying a glass of wine.  I can spent a day slow cooking a big pot of sauce or soup and not have to worry about errands or chores.  It’s a peaceful day.

I always boot up and go for a walk around the yard. I love to look at the heavy fluffy snow as it rests on branches and how it drifts down from the sky and has an utterly peaceful sound as it collects on the ground.

There is large pine forest next to my house and when the wind blows through the trees and sets the snow free it is absolutely beautiful. There’s a rustling of the tall pines and then a cascade of snow as it falls to the ground.

I remember as a child, we would go outside at night when it was snowing and play in the front yard. You could literally hear the snow falling.  It is the most peaceful thing I believe you could experience in life.  Even today as I walked in my yard, I could here those flakes falling.  They were only mildly interrupted by the rumbling of an old truck or two as they slowly made their way up the snow covered road.

Even as much as I hate Winter and long for warm days sitting out back listening to the birds, there is something truly magical and spiritual about a snow day.

Plus, it melts quickly.  And by the weekend, the temperature will be up in the 60’s.  Spring is eminent here and soon I’ll be planting my garden.

For now, I’ll just enjoy the rest of this day, and countdown the days until spring: 61 days and counting!