"Those of you that know us know that we like bacon, a lot. We saw a picture of a Bacon Cheesecake last week and have thought of nothing else. They didn’t have a recipe, so we worked out one that we liked.
We used a chocolate striped shortbread cookie for our crust; graham cracker is just too boring…adding in 1 cup of chocolate chips and a 12 oz. package of bacon. We then added another package of bacon and chocolate chips into our filling. We topped it off more bacon in our caramel sauce. There was more than 2 pounds of bacon in this cheesecake.
We had all the major food groups covered here: bacon, chocolate, caramel and cheesecake. It just doesn’t get any better than this. The smoky bacon mixed with the semi-sweet chocolate added to the caramel and cheesecake ingredients was a dessert symphony. But, one last touch of flavor. We used our Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill for a “Kiss of Smoke” with pecan pellets in a wedgie. It was awesome!"
Crust:
12 ounces extra-crispy bacon bits (we made our own)
1 package Chocolate Striped Shortbread Cookies made into crumbs
2 tablespoons butter melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cheesecake:
32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup crumbled crisp bacon
3 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum extract
Bacon Turtle Topping:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup extra-crispy bacon bits
3 tablespoons cold bacon grease (chilled until solid)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Chocolate Topping:
1 1/2–2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
The Crust:
Put the crisp bacon into a food processor and do a rough chop; you don’t want it too fine. Set aside. Put the cookies in next and chop them. Now add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse a few times until everything is well mixed.
Press into a 9-inch spring form pan. I like a thick crust, so ours is about 1/2-inch thick. We saved the leftover crust crumbs for ice cream. Firm it up by pressing it down flat with the bottom of a glass.
Put your crust into the grill/smoker at 350°F for 10 minutes.
The Filling:
Place the cream cheese and sour cream into the food processor, and blend. Now, add the remaining ingredients for the filling, and mix well.
Pour batter onto the crust and spread it evenly with a spoon. Tap the pan on the counter top to work out any air bubbles. Place pan back on the grill/smoker at 350°F for 1 1/2 hours.
When the cake is done, it will still jiggle in the middle, so don’t worry about that. Take a small sharp knife and carefully run it around the sides of the pan to free the cake so it won’t crack when you remove the spring form later. I let the cheesecake cool for awhile and then added my caramel topping.
The Bacon Turtle Topping:
Put 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons water into a saucepan over low heat. Gently stir the sugar as it melts. After it has melted, bring it to a low boil and let it boil until it becomes amber in color.
Once it boils, it will go quick, so have your butter, chocolate chips, bacon bits and bacon grease ready to go into the sauce. When the caramel is a rich amber color, stir in the butter, chocolate chips, bacon bits and bacon grease, mixing well. Remove from heat and stir in the cream.
Set aside and let it cool for 15 to 20minutes. Then pour over the top of your cheesecake, letting it pool on top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight.
The Chocolate Topping:
The next morning, remove the side of spring form pan. Put 1/2 a bag of semisweet chocolate chips into a 2-cup measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir again and cook 15 seconds.
Using a tablespoon, border the chocolate around the top edge of the cheesecake, making a nice ring.