Candied Whisky Bacon Grilled Cheese Dippers

8
Servings

20m
Prep Time

20m
Cook Time

40m
Ready In

Recipe: #24115

June 18, 2016

Categories: Lunch, Pork, Dairy, Alcohol, Appetizers, Italian, Mexican, North American, Cinco de Mayo, Entertaining, Ladies Luncheon, Oven Roast, Stove Top, No Eggs, Processed Cheese, Spicy, Sandwiches more

recipe by:
TwisSis RIP Forever in our Kitchen

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recipe by:
TwisSis RIP Forever in our Kitchen

"Found this morning @ thecookierookiedotcom on a 1st visit to her site, food blogger Becky Hardin definitely amazed me w/this recipe for the ultimate adult comfort food plus another recipe for a bite-sized, easy-fix & creative appy I'll enter next. I can hardly wait to browse the rest of her recipes for more treasures! Altho described as the perfect appy for a NY Eve party, IMHO it also works well for a luncheon entree, a starter course for a dinner party or even a Cinco de Mayo celebration. My best bet is we're all going to ENJOY this comfort food to-the-max!"

Original recipe yields 8 servings

Metric US

I've Tried It

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F. While the oven is heating, mix the whiskey (or bourbon) w/1 cup brown sugar & the cayenne pepper in a sml saucepan over med-high heat. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil & then reduce to a simmer for 10 min. Remove from heat & set aside.

Step 2

Place ea strip of bacon directly on a baking sheet, allowing a bit of space between them. This is a video about oven-baking bacon w/tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr4Zv840kys. Brush both sides of the bacon w/the whiskey reduction & then sprinkle the top w/the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Step 3

Place bacon in the oven & cook for 20 min, ck'ing after 12 min. Ovens vary, so you want to be sure the bacon doesn't burn. (Becky Hardin said hers took the full 20 min.

Step 4

Take bacon out of the oven & allow to sit on a paper towel to cool & drain.

Step 5

When ready to make your grilled cheese, heat a lrg skillet over med-high heat.

Step 6

Butter 1 side of ea slice of bread. Lightly sprinkle ea buttered side w/garlic powder.

Step 7

Place ea slice of bread onto the hot skillet, butter side down. Add 1 slice of cheddar cheese & 1 slice of mozzarella to each slice of bread & allow to melt while bread toasts. Cook ea slice of bread for approx 2 min or until the outside is fully toasted & browned to your liking.

Step 8

Place 2 slices of bacon onto 4 pieces of the bread, side-by-side. Top w/the remaining 4 slices of bread = 4 cheesy sandwiches. Sprinkle ea hot sandwich w/a little shredded cheddar (optional). Cut ea sandwich in half (between the bacon slices) to create 8 dippers.

Step 9

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Yield is 8 dippers, so as a lunch item, serve 2 dippers per person w/a bowl of tomato soup. As an appy or starter course, serve 1 dipper per person w/a sml dish of tomato soup or marinara sauce. If having a Mexican or Tex-Mex meal & you need an appy or starter course for it, try serving 1 dipper per person w/a sml dish of salsa or guacamole.

Step 10

COMMENTS FROM ME: I haven't made this recipe yet, but 2 things occur to me: 1) The amt of whisky (or bourbon) & the amt of brown sugar seem to exceed the need for just 8 slices of bacon, so expect leftovers or adjust as you see fit ... 2) Re the optional topping of extra cheddar cheese - Frankly, we're already on "cheese-overload" by the time we get to that option, so I'd be skipping it w/o hesitation.