Bacon Fudge Brownies

Welcome to 12 Weeks of Chocolate, a countdown to the New Year with chocolate as the star. Try new recipes, visit cool 'chocolate destinations' and share your own chocolate inspirations.
With all of the recent great news about dark chocolate's health benefits + the upcoming holiday season, its definitely time to celebrate this luscious foodstuff!

Dark chocolate isn't the only food ingredient that's been a hot topic lately. Ever since I dipped a piece of leftover brunch bacon into my brownie batter and savored this popular sweet-salty combination, I've wanted to join the flavors in an original recipe. See what you think of:

Bacon Fudge Brownies
Makes 24
Batter:
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
  (VOE: You can substitute 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for unsweetened chocolate squares? However, this may change the texture some. I made a substitute for one square)
1 stick of butter
3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
3 eggs
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Bacon prep:
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons well-cooked bacon, broken into 1/8-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure granulated sugar and brown sugar and set aside. In a double boiler, melt unsweetened chocolate and stick of butter. Remove from heat and stir in granulated sugar and oil and then add brown sugar. Beat eggs and add to mixture. Transfer to larger bowl and stir in flour.

Melt butter in a small bowl. Add oil, brown sugar and cinnamon and combine thoroughly. Stir in bacon, until well coated. Fold bacon mixture into flour mixture. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.

Bake for 20 minutes until slightly springy to the touch. Do not overbake. Cool completely and then cover with foil. For added flavor, drizzle thin dark chocolate sauce on top.