These little crostinis are so good, I’ve decided to serve them as an appetizer for my family’s Christmas dinner this year. I’ll be hosting this dinner and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from hosting large crowds – make ahead dishes will change your life! Both elements of this dish can be made ahead which leaves just a few minutes needed for assembly! Perfect for hosting.
For this post, I’m going to detail how I made the bacon jam for the crostinis – if you’d like to know how I make my pimento cheese, you can refer to my pimento cheese recipe post, which you can find here: https://beckeatsworld.com/jalapeno-horseradish-pimiento-cheese/
For the bacon jam, you’ll need 1.5 lbs of bacon, thick sliced. If you use regular sliced bacon, the fried bits will be more like bacon crumbs which is not ideal. If you have a Wegmans near you, this bacon is perfect because it’s exactly 1.5 lbs and the correct thickness:
First you want to cut the bacon in chunks and fry it all up. Cutting bacon is easiest when it’s really cold so don’t let your bacon hang out on the counter before doing this. You’ll have to fry them up in batches since it won’t all fit in one pan. It took me about 3 batches to cook it all down. Lay the fried bits on a paper towel once you’re done.
Pour the excess grease out of your frying pan, but don’t clean or wipe the pan. The leftover grease is what you’ll use to cook the veggies in. Cook down the onions, jalapenos, and garlic in the grease:
For this recipe, I leave all the seeds and membranes in my jalapenos. Once they’re cooked and thrown in with the sweetness of the jam, I don’t think it’s quite as spicy as fresh jalapenos. So you can use your personal “spicy” judgement, but I leave mine in. If you don’t like spicy foods at all, just leave the jalapenos out altogether – it will still taste awesome! Bacon jam isn’t something you eat by itself any way, so remember that you’ll have other barriers to the spice as well. After the veggies have cooked down, you can add in the other sauce ingredients, bring the mixture to a boil, then add the bacon back into the pan and turn down the heat to a simmer.
From here, you’ll need to let the whole mixture reduce and thicken. This takes about 20-30 minutes until it looks like this:
At this point I add more maple syrup in because I want a saucier texture. Then I remove it from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes before putting in my food processor. I don’t pulse it to death but just a few times to make all the ingredients smaller. You’re looking for a paste sort of texture but with a little liquidity in there to make it spreadable.
I recommend making this either the day before or a couple hours before you need it so that you give the mixture time to cool down in the fridge. Unless you wanted it hot to use in a hot appetizer of some sort. For these crostinis, I keep it cold like the pimento cheese. Once you have the jam and cheese ready and prepared, you just have to assemble the crostinis. You can make your own but a local bakery near me makes some really great olive oil and herb crostinis. If you’re local you can find Yellow Dog Bakery in the Oakwood neighborhood of downtown Raleigh.
Man, these crostinis have so much flavor. Looks really don’t do them justice! The spicy sweet flavor from the bacon jam and the creaminess of the pimento cheese is perfect! Then you get the crunchy texture from the crostini. A real winner if I do say so myself.
Someone please make these so we can discuss how good they are together! As I’m writing this post, I realize that the majority of my recipes contain bacon and jalapenos. Ha! I mean, isn’t everything better with bacon?
Pimento Cheese & Bacon Jam Crostinis
Ingredients
- 3 cups pimento cheese
- 20 crostinis
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
For the Bacon Jam:
- 1 1/2 lbs Thick Sliced Bacon
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 fresh jalapenos, sliced (optional)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup coffee
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Cut the bacon into small squares, about an inch x an inch. In a large non-stick skillet, fry up the chopped bacon in batches over medium heat until it's crispy like bacon bits, then remove it from the pan onto a paper towel lined plate.
- Remove excess grease from the pan but leave in about a tablespoon. Over medium heat, add in the chopped onions, sliced jalapenos, and garlic. Cook about 7-10 minutes, until the onions and jalapenos are softened.
- Add in the coffee, vinegar, brown sugar, and only 1/4 cup of the maple syrup. Let the mixture simmer over medium low heat until it thickens and reduces, about 20-30 minutes. Add in the rest of the maple syrup and remove from heat. After the mixture cools down some, put it in a food processor and pulse until you have the desired consistency. Store in the fridge.
- For the crostinis, assemble them with a spoon full of pimento cheese, top with a smaller spoonful of the bacon jam, then garnish with sliced green onions.
