Spiced Snaps with Maple-Coffee Icing

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Every time you cook bacon, pour off the rendered fat into a glass jar and store in the fridge. It’s wonderful to use in place of butter when frying eggs, making pancakes…or whipping up a batch of cookies! The fat adds a subtle savory note to these crisp, maple-scented gingersnaps, and a splash of coffee in the icing adds depth.

Makes 6 dozen cookies | Total Time: Less Than 60 Mins

Ingredients

For the cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 cup bacon fat from Applegate Naturals^® Sunday Bacon^® Brand
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
½ cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons coffee, cooled
3 tablespoons maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

For the cookies:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine the bacon fat, brown sugar and egg in a large bowl and beat together until well blended. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until well combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until smooth and well combined. Divide the mixture in half, shape each half into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days before baking.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out on a lightly floured surface into a ¼-inch-thick round. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters and arrange 1½ inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather up the scraps, reroll and cut out more shapes.
Bake the cookies until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

For the icing:

While the cookies cool, combine the powdered sugar, salt and butter and beat until combined. Add the coffee, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until very smooth.
If icing is too thick, add a little more coffee or syrup to thin it. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Drizzle the cooled cookies with the icing or spread with a spatula.
Decorate with sprinkles, if you like.
Let icing dry completely before transferring to an airtight container. Cookies will keep up to 5 days.