Candied Bacon Sprinkles

Candied bacon sprinkles? You’re either raising your eyebrows or licking your lips right now.

I personally was in the raised eyebrow camp the first time I was served candied bacon on an ice cream sundae. I love bacon probably more than most people, and love that sweet and salty combinations, but bacon on ice cream still felt like taking things too far. One creamy, salty, and sweet bite was all it took to win me over.

Candying bacon sounds fancy and tricky, but it’s actually a quick and easy process in the oven. While you let your oven get hot (450 degrees hot), grab a few slices of bacon, lay them on some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, sprinkle them with brown sugar and you’re good to go. I like a little heat, so I sprinkle a little chili pepper powder on the bacon as well. But that’s just me. You may want to go crazy and put your own twist on it. After all, once you’ve stepped into candied bacon territory, there’s no reason not to go all the way and get really crazy with flavoring.

Once the bacon is out of the oven and cooled, cut it up as small as you can just to get little bursts of salty sweetness in each ice cream bite. What type of ice cream you choose to decorate with this bacon deliciousness is up to you. My personal favorite is salty caramel ice cream but there’s a great deal to be said for the simplicity of vanilla ice cream topped with candied bacon or the thrilling decadence of a handful of bacon atop of a really good scoop of dark chocolate ice cream.

No need to wait and run to the store and bookmark this recipe for a later date. You have some brown sugar in your cupboard and an old package of bacon lying around in your fridge. Put them to good use, freeze what you won’t eat today, and you’ll have a six month supply of candied bacon sprinkles that will drastically elevate your desserts.

Candied bacon. Just do it. Today. I promise you’ll thank me with a huge smile and a mouth full of ice cream.