This 1940s trick to save butter recommends using bacon drippings to make bacon grease cookies. I put the old-fashioned method to the test!
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.
Nancy Mock for Taste of Home
The best kitchen tip from generations of grandmas is to save your bacon grease. Those drippings can be used for so many things: to pan-fry potatoes, make salad dressing, add flavor to cornbread and, surprisingly, to make a batch of bacon grease cookies.
What are bacon grease cookies?
Cookie dough needs fat in the mixture to create a soft and tender texture. The fat is usually butter or shortening. But during and after World War II when butter was strictly rationed, home cooks saved fat drippings from bacon and other meats and used the drippings to replace some of the butter in baked goods.
Because bacon grease isn’t flavorless, using too much can give baked goods a bit of a pork flavor. 1940s recipes note that the savoriness is less noticeable when used in chocolate or spiced baked goods. I also found that grease from sweeter, maple-flavored bacon is better for cookies than smoked bacon.
With the right kind of bacon grease, I was ready to put this frugal recipe idea to the test.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bacon Grease
This recipe includes saved grease from maple bacon that’s been chilled to firm it up to a shortening-like consistency. One pound of baked bacon yields 1/4 cup of grease. The dough has a touch of cinnamon which tastes nice with the chocolate chips and helps make savory flavors more subtle. The recipe makes about 32 cookies.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) chilled maple bacon grease
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Tools You’ll Need
- Stand Mixer: Use a stand mixer to make the cookie dough, like this KitchenAid model that ranked highest in Taste of Home‘s stand mixer test.
- Baking Sheet: The Test Kitchen designed this sheet pan with a patterned surface that encourages airflow.
- Bacon Grease Container: If you plan to save bacon grease for future recipes, invest in an inexpensive bacon grease container like this.
Directions
Step 1: Cream the fats and sugar
Nancy Mock for Taste of Home
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Put the softened butter, chilled maple bacon grease, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the ingredients together at medium-high speed for 3 minutes. This is how to cream butter and sugar for best results!
Step 2: Add the eggs and vanilla
Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl, and beat the mixture on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients
Nancy Mock for Taste of Home
In a medium bow, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add this mixture to the egg and butter mixture; run the mixer on low speed until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Scoop and bake
Nancy Mock for Taste of Home
Once the dough is chilled, use a cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop a rounded tablespoonful of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each scoop.
Bake the cookies for 14-15 minutes, until the edges are brown and the tops have some color, too. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack, and repeat the steps to scoop and bake the rest of the dough.
Step 4: Let the cookies cool, then enjoy
Nancy Mock for Taste of Home
I find that the cookies taste best when completely cooled. Store the cookies in an airtight container with a piece of bread or a brown sugar saver to keep them soft. They’ll keep well for 5 days.
Here’s What I Thought
The cookies were soft and delicious (who doesn’t love a good chocolate chip cookie) but they did surprise me! I assumed that bacon grease would give the cookies some bacon flavor. In reality, the bacon grease imparts a hard-to-pin-down, subtle savoriness to the cookies. My friends who tried them loved them, especially the touch of cinnamon. They knew something was different about the cookies, but never guessed that the secret ingredient was bacon drippings!
The amount of bacon grease you use is important. Through trial and error (and a few batches of inedible cookies) I found it best to replace only a quarter of the butter in the recipe with bacon grease—more than that gave the cookies too much pork flavor. I also found that maple-flavored bacon drippings are the best choice for cookies because grease from hardwood-smoked bacon made my cookies way too smoky-tasting and salty.
The takeaway from all of this is that using a small amount of bacon grease in chocolate chip cookies is a great way to use bacon drippings and help conserve your butter. But if you’re hoping for bacon-flavored cookies, add crumbled pieces of bacon to the dough!
Chocolate Chip Cookies You Aren't Making Yet
1 / 21
Air-Fryer Chocolate Chip Oatmeal CookiesI am crazy about chocolate chips, and this chewy cookie has enough to satisfy me. My husband and kids love these cookies. This big batch is perfect for our family. —Diane Neth, Menno, South DakotaGo to RecipeCostco chocolate chips are a must-try for any chocolate chip cookie.
I wanted to put a spin on the traditional chocolate chip cookie, and who doesn't love cinnamon? Depending on what you use to drop your cookies, the serving quantity may change. —Cassie Colosimo, Reading, Pennsylvania. Looking for variations? Learn to make a giant chocolate chip pizookie.
Go to Recipe
You'll win hearts—and maybe a ring—with this recipe for Marry Me cookies. It's loaded with two kinds of chocolate!
Chocolate Pecan Skillet CookieBake up the ultimate shareable cookie. For variety, replace the chocolate chips with an equal quantity of M&M's or chocolate chunks. Or go super fancy by mixing the chocolate chips and pecans into the dough, then gently folding in 1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries. —James Schend, Taste of Home Deputy Culinary Editor
Go to Recipe
P.S. Cookies don't have to be the final product of a recipe to stand out. Here are 50 creative ways to eat cookies.
Chocolate Monster CookiesMy four grandsons started attending "Grandma's cooking school" when they were as young as 4. These easy monster cookies are a favorite of the youngest. He has fun making them and is always delighted with the results, as is the rest of the family. —Helen Hilbert, Liverpool, New York
Go to Recipe
Coconut Chocolate Chip CookiesHere's a new type of chocolate chip cookie. They're great for coconut lovers, textured by the coconut and flavored by the extract...a compatible combination that results in a crispy, chewy cookie. My whole family agrees this recipe is a winner. —Laura Bankard, Manchester, Maryland
Go to Recipe
Taste of Home
Chocolate Malted CookiesThese cookies are the next best thing to a good old-fashioned malted milk. With malted milk powder, chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips and chunks, these are the best cookies I've ever tasted…and with six kids, I've made a lot of cookies over the years! —Teri Rasey, Cadillac, Michigan
Go to Recipe
Jamie Thrower for Taste of Home
Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip CookiesNo surprise, this Ghirardelli chocolate chip cookie recipe isveryheavy on the chocolate chips! —Risa Lichtman, Portland, OregonGo to Recipe
Chocolate Cake CookiesEveryone I've shared it with has loved this chocolate cake cookies recipe. The cookies are soft and chewy, and take just a few minutes to make—even for kids! —Monica Stout, Anchorage, Alaska
Go to Recipe
TIFFANY DAHLE FOR TASTE OF HOME
DoubleTree’s Chocolate Chip CookiesDoubleTree shared its secret recipe, and I had to test them. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with the perfect ratio of walnuts and chocolate chips, these cookies checked every box on our scorecard. —Tiffany Dahle, Charlotte, North Caroline. If you don't have time for baking, then you must opt for these store-bought chocolate chip cookies.Go to Recipe
Chocolate Zucchini CookiesThis recipe started out as a plain zucchini cookie. But over the years, I added nuts and chocolate chips. These soft cookies never make it to the cookie jar! —Tina Lunt, Bass Harbor, Maine
Go to Recipe
Double DelightsYou get the best of both worlds with these chocolate and vanilla cookies. They're an appealing addition to any cookie tray. I usually serve them at the holidays, when they're often the first cookies to disappear, but you can have them any time of year. —Ruth Ann Stelfox, Raymond, Alberta
Go to Recipe
Wyoming Cowboy CookiesThese cookies are very popular here in Wyoming. Mix up a batch for your crew and see why. —Patsy Steenbock, Shoshoni, Wyoming
Go to Recipe
Chewy Chocolate Chip CookiesEveryone who has tried these cookies says they're the best they've ever eaten. I'm sure the addition of pudding mix makes all the difference. —Iona Hamilton, Rocky Ford, Colorado
Go to Recipe
Taste of Home
Crystallized Gingerbread Chocolate Chip CookiesThis recipe is the best of twp worlds—gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies. Since they're combined, you don't have to choose between them. —Colleen Delawder, Herndon, Virginia
Go to Recipe
S'more Sandwich CookiesCapture the taste of campfire s'mores in your kitchen. Graham cracker crumbs added to chocolate chip cookie dough bring out the flavor of the fireside favorite. Melting the cookies' marshmallow centers in the microwave makes them simple to assemble. —Abby Metzger, Larchwood, Iowa
Go to Recipe
Banana Chocolate Chip CookiesThese soft banana cookies have a cakelike texture and lots of flavor that everyone seem to love. It's one of the best banana cookie recipes I've found. —Vicki Raatz, Waterloo, Wisconsin
Go to Recipe
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter CookiesHere's a different version of a traditional recipe. I love these soft peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. — Clarice Schweitzer, Sun City, Arizona
Go to Recipe
10-Cup CookiesMy mother used to make this easy 10-cup cookie recipe for my sisters and me. You could find one of our favorite ingredients in every bite, whether it was chocolate, coconut, raisins or nuts. —Tracy Powers, Byron Center, Michigan
Go to Recipe
Orange-Cinnamon Chocolate Chip CookiesI developed this recipe after years of searching for a chocolate chip cookie that would stand out from all others. Orange and cinnamon are tasty additions. —Daniel Kaepp, Coldwater, Michigan
Go to Recipe
Giant Buckeye CookieI’m from Ohio, and we love our buckeye candy! Buckeyes are a delicious combination of peanut butter and chocolate, which is exactly what this cookie is. All you need is a box of cake mix, a few common pantry ingredients, and voila—you have a tasty dessert ready for family and friends in under an hour. You can customize it, too, by substituting other mix-ins for the chocolate chips. We serve it warm with ice cream or whipped cream. —Arianna Harding, Cincinnati, Ohio
Go to Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Chip CookiesAs a competitive figure skater, I need high-energy snacks to keep me going. These cookies are loaded with nuts, chips and fabulous flavor. Coaches at my skating rink are always sneaking two or three when I bring them in! —Cassandra Brzycki, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Go to Recipe
