How to Make Candied Bacon

It is no secret or surprise that, like seemingly everybody we know, we adore bacon. Not only is it essential for a delicious breakfast, it makes everything from sliders to pasta more special, so much so that we’ve even started wrapping it around chicken AND we’re considering incorporating it into our holiday meals! Now, just in time for Christmas, we’ve learned how to make it a treat worthy of dessert and stocking-stuffing, too: Candied Bacon.

That’s right, Candied Bacon. Don’t be scared; we haven’t robbed it of its essential flavor. Instead, we’ve used ingredients made to go with it – maple syrup, brown sugar, spices – to give it a sweet coating that makes the crisp, salty center stand out even more. It’s not complicated, either! Let us show you how, and when you’re done drooling, you’ll be able to make it yourself with the recipe below.

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Candied Bacon

Makes 10 to 16 pieces
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (10 to 16 slices) bacon
  • ⅓ cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • Ground black pepper, to taste (optional)
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Line a baking pan with aluminum foil, and another baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the slices of bacon on a greased wire rack, and place the wire rack on the foil-lined baking pan.
  3. Brush the top of the bacon with the maple syrup, and sprinkle with the brown sugar. If using, sprinkle the bacon with the ground black pepper and cayenne pepper.
  4. Place a second greased wire rack upside-down on top of the bacon. Doing so will help prevent the bacon from curling during cooking.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes.
  6. After 15 minutes, remove the second wire rack and flip the bacon. Brush the fresh sides of the bacon with more maple syrup, sprinkle with more brown sugar, and season with additional black pepper and cayenne pepper, if using.
  7. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bacon reaches your desired level of crispiness. Watch closely during the last 15 minutes, since the sugar can begin to burn if cooked too long. If needed, lower the oven temperature to allow the bacon time to crisp before getting too dark.
  8. Remove the bacon from the oven, and let the cooked bacon cool for 5 minutes.
  9. Remove the bacon from the wire rack, so that it does not begin to stick, and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet to continue cooling. Wait until the candied bacon is at room temperature before serving.

How great is that?! All of the bacon fiends in your life will love finding this treat in their stockings or under the tree come Christmas morning, and you’ll love how great your house smells while you make it! We definitely call that a Christmas win.

But don’t take our word for it— try it yourself! Do you think you will? If you do, will you include the black pepper and the cayenne pepper, stick with just maple syrup and brown sugar, or will you do something completely different spice-wise? Have you ever made anything similar? Who in your home is going to love Candied Bacon the most? Tell us if you give it a try and be sure to let us know how it turns out!

Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking