Bacon Bread!!!

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 packets rapid rise yeast
1 tsp sugar

Mix above ingredients together and let yeast proof 5 minutes. If it does not bubble, your water was too hot...start over!

4 Tbsp butter or bacon fat!
4 cups bread flour
1 tsp coarse black pepper
2 tsp hickory bacon seasoning salt or powder
1 pound bacon cooked crisp and broken into small bits

olive oil

Proof your yeast and set aside.
Pour flour, salt and pepper into mixer with bread hook attached.
Pour in activated yeast.
Add melted butter or fat.
Add crumbled bacon.
Stir on low for about 12 minutes until dough is hooked around bread hook and pulled away from bowl.

Place dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic, place in warm spot for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Knead bread on floured surface for 2 minutes.

Grease loaf pan with olive oil.
Place dough into loaf pan and let rise another hour.
dust top with olive oil

Bake at 350 for 45- 50 minutes

Great toast. BLT bread and french toast!!!! Or right out of oven!!!

All Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

ALL TIME FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!

3/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 (12-oz) packages semisweet chocolate morsels

parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until blended.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. beat in morsels just until combined ( I stir them in!) Add other favorites at this time! Like pretzels! (whatever variations you like!)  Drop by tablespoons onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets! I love using parchment paper!!!!

3. Bake at 350 for 10 -14 minutes. Slide parchment off of baking sheet and let cool, or cool on wire racks.

Variations to try:

Chocolate chip Pretzel~ I put about 2 cups broken pretzel sticks in... Yummy!

Cranberry White Chocolate~ 12 oz white choc and 6 oz dried cranberries!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels~ 7 oz bag broken up

Almond Toffee~ 1.4 oz toffee pieces and 1 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers

Turtle cookies~package choc pecan caramel clusters chopped and dark choc morsels 

Peanut butter Choc~ Decrease salt to 1/2 tsp decrease choc to 1 package, add 1 cup peanut butter creamy, mix with butter and sugars. and add 1 cup lightly salted peanuts with morsels... increase flour to 2 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp.

This is they only chocolate chip recipe I use now! I even had a kid ask me for the recipe once!!!! That is how good they are!

I found it in an issue of Southern Living years ago!!!