Maple Candied Bacon

Hi. I made you candied bacon. You're welcome.

The smell of this crackling in the oven, made the whole house seem warmer. The combination of bacon, maple, and cinnamon- seriously, I want my house to smell like this ALL the time. If someone out there knows of a candied bacon-scented candle, hook me up.

While I could have just eaten these all on their own, I did what any sane person would do: dipped them in chocolate and added them to cookie dough. Unfortunately, I was testing out a new cookie recipe and they didn't turn out exactly right (too much butter!), so I'm not going to share it. But here's my advice instead. Melt some chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup. Cover the candied bacon with the chocolate and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the chocolate is set. Chop it up and add it to your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe in place of the chocolate chips, and add a pinch of cinnamon to the batter. I Die.

Another choice? Crumble it up and add it to popcorn. Salty and sweet and delicious.

Maple Candied Bacon
Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
5 slices bacon
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire rack on the baking sheet.
2. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Pour onto a shallow plate.
3. Lay the bacon slices over the wire rack. Brush both sides of the bacon with maple syrup. Dredge the bacon in the cinnamon- sugar mixture and return to the wire rack.
4. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake 15 minutes. Flip the slices of bacon over and sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar. Continue to bake another 10-15 minutes, or until desired crispiness.
5. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain for about one minute. Serve warm or reserve for another use.