This is my own recipe. I know it sounds a little odd, but trust me. Remarkably good stuff.

First things first—don’t be intimidated. It is a time-consuming recipe that looks kinda complicated, but it is really pretty easy and very forgiving. I usually spread it out over two days. You’ll see why.

–Rick Savage, Master Control Operator, PBS

The night before you bake…

Start with the bacon:

Preheat your oven to 325°F.

You will want to trim off any big bits of fat. It won’t affect the flavor if you leave it, but a big wad of fat is kinda nasty to bite into. Season the bacon to taste with pepper. You don’t need a ton of pepper, but don’t omit it or the cookies will be way too sweet.

Put the bacon in a bowl and dredge it heavily with ⅓ cup of the sugar. Spread it in one layer on a cookie sheet covered with baking parchment. If you omit the paper, you will have a massive mess to clean up. Sprinkle any remaining sugar over the top. Cover the layer with another sheet of parchment and put a second cookie sheet on top.

Put it on the center rack in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. If it is not golden brown and fairly crispy, bake for another ten minutes or so, but do not turn the heat up because it will burn if you do.

If the bacon seems greasy, you can put it on a clean towel to drain. Don’t use paper towels, though, as it will stick. You’ll need to chop the bacon up, but that is easier once it gets cold.

Now for the cookies…

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until it is light and "fluffy." It takes about four minutes.

3. Add the almond extract and egg, and beat it until it’s well combined. Add the Grade B syrup and continue beating until combined.

4. Add about ⅓ of the chopped up bacon, and combine that, too.

5. Add the flour mixture and stir it in until it’s incorporated.

6. At this point you have the batter, but it is going to be really wet and sticky. You will need to cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least one hour. I usually just go to bed and finish it in the morning. So long as you put the plastic directly on the batter, it will be just fine overnight.

The next morning…

Did you sleep well? Good!

7. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Probably a good idea to eat something while it’s heating. The smell will make you ravenous if you don’t!

8. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

9. Drop the dough on the sheets in tablespoon sized balls. You’ll want to keep them about three inches apart, because they spread out quite a lot.

10. Bake them until they are golden brown around the edges—about ten minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for about ten more minutes before you put them on a cooling rack. While they’re still on the sheet, take a good pinch of the bacon and top the cookies. If you’ll press down gently while they are still warm, it will help the bacon stay in place.

And that’s it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 12 slices thick cut bacon

• Finely ground black pepper

• ⅓ cup brown sugar. I like to use dark brown, but light will work.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 stick unsalted butter AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. You will regret it if you use cold!

• 1 cup dark brown sugar. I like to use a little less, but top it off with raw sugar.

• 1 teaspoon almond extract. Vanilla will work, but almond is better.

• 1 egg. Use a big one. I prefer brown, but it doesn’t matter much.

• ¾ cup GRADE B maple syrup. Really! Grade B. it matters.