Preheat the oven to 350°F. While it's heating up, cook bacon to crisp.
6 slices Regular Bacon
In a medium size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, vanilla pudding mix, and salt with a whisk.
2 c. All Purpose Flour, 2 tsp. Dry Vanilla Pudding Mix, 1 tsp. Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp. Salt
In a large bowl, cream the butter, bacon grease, and both sugars with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Add the room-temperature eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
1 c. Butter, 1/4 c. Bacon Grease, 1/2 c. Granulated Sugar, 3/4 c. Brown Sugar, 2 large Eggs, 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Gradually stir the flour mixture into the creamed butter until just combined. I recommend stirring in the flour by hand with a wooden spoon and being careful not to over-mix.
Gently fold in the chopped bacon and chocolate chips. Allow the dough to chill in the fridge for at least an hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes.
6 slices Regular Bacon, 2 c. Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
Form chilled dough into balls and squish them down just a bit on the pan. I like to use a cookie scoop that holds about 2 tablespoons. It was totally worth buying. If you use a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop, don’t round off the dough. Make sure it’s smooth and flat on the bottom. Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet spaced 2″ apart. Do not crowd them!
Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just slightly browned.
Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then move them to wire racks to cool completely.