Martina McBride’s Blackberry-Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich

 To know us is to know bacon and cheese are two of our very favorite things. Martina McBride’s Martina’s Kitchen Mix cookbook kicks the beloved Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich up a notch with a hint of Blackberry Jam. It is a game changer. 

“This is a delicious sweet-and-spicy version (one of my favorite flavor combinations) of a traditional grilled cheese sandwich. Crisp bacon—another fave—adds a smoky element to the combo.” Martina McBride

Serves 4     Hands-on 25 minutes     Total 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon
• 2 tablespoons blackberry jam
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce, from canned chipotle peppers in
  adobo sauce
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 8 slices sourdough bread
• 4 slices Havarti cheese
• 1⁄4 cup pickled jalapeño slices

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high 8 to 9 minutes or until crisp; remove the bacon, and drain on paper towels.

2. Stir together the blackberry jam and adobo sauce. Spread the butter on 1 side of each bread slice. Place 4 bread slices, buttered sides down, on wax paper. Top with the blackberry jam mixture, cheese, bacon, and pickled jalapeño peppers; top with the remaining bread slices, buttered sides up.

3. Cook the sandwiches in a nonstick skillet or preheated
panini press over medium 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and
the cheese is melted.

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You can change this up and experiment with it as much as you want. Use a different kind of cheese: Monterey Jack, Swiss . . . or pepper Jack, if you want it even spicier. I sometimes use raw jalapeños instead of the pickled kind for a bit of crunch and freshness. Shredded ham instead of bacon would be another good swap to turn this into a sweet-and-smoky, hot ham-and-cheese sandwich.

Check our Martina’s Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.