Sweet of the Week: Bacon Cookie from Cookies & Carnitas

Bacon Cookie: There's just something so virtuous about visiting a farmers' market only to binge on cookies. At least I can rest easy knowing the cookies are studded with locally sourced, artisan ingredients, right? At least that's what I tell myself as I shovel morsels of bacon-glazed cookies from Cookies & Carnitas into my mouth at Green City Market, Cookie Monster-style. One of the quintessential stops at the market for sweets and ready-made food (their carnitas sandwiches and tacos are killer), it's the first half of that ampersand that really stands out. And as their name suggests, the company with the penchant for pork and sweets seamlessly combines their two passions in the bacon-glazed cookie. 

(Cookies & Carnitas at Green City Market)

Cookies & Carnitas originated as a Green City Market vendor before going on to open its own storefront in Edgewater. They are still a perpetual presence at the market, however, slinging their porcine, sugary wares to the hungry masses. While others are fueling up on samples of black garlic hummus and tamales, I make a beeline to Cookies & Carnitas for a dose of wholesome comfort food. Nothing beats their cookies, especially the ones made with bacon. The bacon-glazed cookie has a crumbly, buttery shortbread quality, studded with candied and crackly nuggets of bacon. It's all finished with a mildly treacly, sticky glaze that serves to round out the porky infusion quite nicely. It's hefty and indulgent, but still easy to polish off entirely, making it the ideal fuel for a day of farmers' market shopping. 

- Matt Kirouac