Bacon Desserts – Brownies to Carmel Apples

When we think about bacon, we naturally think “bacon and eggs” or “BLT’s”; we often don’t think about using bacon in a dessert – ok, perhaps some of us do.  Well, today we are going to explore the wonderful world of bacon desserts and see what we can find, share some of our favorites and perhaps find some new ones we have yet to try.  Keep in mind; you can adjust these recipes to your own taste, whether that is adding more or less bacon, brown sugar coating or anything else you may want to try.  You can also use Turkey bacon if you prefer.  If you try something different and it works out well, let us know about it; we would love to see some of your recipes shared below in the comments.

Bacon Brownies 

Bacon Ingredients:

• 8 oz of bacon
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar for coating

Brownie Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup powdered cocoa (your choice)
• 1 1/2 cups of white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (keep in the freezer for an hour before use, this helps keep the sugar from clouding out as you use it)
• 3/4 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 TBSP of water

Directions for bacon:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8″ square or 9″ round pan.
• Spread the bacon in a single layer on a large baking sheet and add about 3/4 of a cup brown sugar, to coat it (you can use more or less, depending on your taste)
• Bake the bacon for 20-25 minutes, or until it’s crisp but not burned or really brown. Remove it from the oven, and place it on a plate or parchment to cool. You can use a baking towel to drain the excess fat from the bacon. Using paper towels won’t work well, as it will stick to the paper. After the bacon has cooled down, you can crumble or chop it up in to small pieces and set to the side.

Directions for the brownies:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, both sugars, salt, and flour
• In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil, and water ( l like to mix these together so it goes in even in the dry mixture), then pour it in the dry mixture and stir until it’s smooth
• Pour the mix in to your pan and smooth out the top; add the bacon bits evenly and bake for 30 minutes
• Insert a toothpick or small knife in to the center of the pan to make sure they are done. You can serve them warm or put them in the fridge for a later time. (Side note: if placing them in the fridge, add a towel to the bottom before putting them in to cool down more, especially if you have glass shelving; this will keep the shelves from shattering due to the warm pan)

By King Arthur Baking

This next recipe is probably something you would see at the State or County fair, but you can make this in your kitchen any time! Chocolate-covered bacon, because, well, chocolate makes everything taste better! You will use the same baking directions for this recipe as you did for the above dessert, minus the brown sugar; the only differences is you will need to use thick bacon and will need some skewer sticks to put the bacon on before baking them. May I also suggest using wooden sticks as opposed to the metal ones; the metal ones will be extremely hot and not easy to handle. When you start to skew the bacon, you will want to make it “wavy” – so sticking through the bacon about 3 to 4 times to make sure it’s on there and not coming off.  I would also recommend using the whole strip, not cutting it in two, since the bacon will shrink when cooking.

Chocolate-covered Bacon Strips

Directions for bacon:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8″ square or 9″ round pan.
• Spread the thick bacon strips in a single layer on a large baking sheet, making sure the sticks are opposite of each other on the sheet, as this makes it easier to pick up after they are done cooking.
• Bake the bacon for 20-25 minutes, or until it’s crisp but not burned or really brown. Remove it from the oven, and place it on a plate or parchment to cool.  You can use a baking towel to drain the excess fat from the bacon.  Using paper towels won’t work well, as the bacon will stick to the paper.  Make sure the bacon is completely cooled before adding the chocolate.

Chocolate Melt:

There are several different melts you can use for the topping.  You can use chocolate chips (with one TBSP of shortening (per bag) for easier spreading on the bacon) or you can use the melting candy.  Both can be melted in the microwave, just be sure you don’t burn it.  I would suggest trying about 45 seconds and go from there. You can always leave them in longer if needed, making sure to stir as you go. Once the chocolate is where you want it to be, use a baking brush to spread the chocolate on the bacon.

Toppings for the chocolate bacon strips:

• Semi-sweet Chocolate chips
• Dark Chocolate chips
• White Chocolate chips
• Coconut flakes (Toasted is better)
• Chopped Peanut bits
• Chopped Pecan bits
• Dried Apple chips
• Cheyenne pepper for a zing
• Chopped pistachio bits
• Toffee chips

You can use pretty much any topping you like, or want to try, on these strips. It all depends on your taste.  Once again, send us your pictures and what you tried on these strips, tell us how you liked it, give us some good ideas for next time, we would love to hear from you!

Maple-Bacon White Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cubed butter + 1 teaspoon (stick butter is best for the cubed)
• 10-12 slices of the ready-to-serve fully cooked bacon
• 2 packages of white chocolate chips (you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips as well, if you like that taste better)
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 teaspoon of maple flavoring
• Optional – Pecan pieces (or walnut pieces)

Directions:

Heat the bacon according to the directions on the package. Once it’s cooled off, crumble it and set aside.  Line a 9” baking pan with foil, on the bottom only, then spread butter on the foil. Set that aside.

Using a microwave safe dish, put the chips, condensed milk, maple flavor and remaining butter in for about 1 minute.  Take out and stir until smooth. If some of the chips have not melted, put it back in for 15-20 seconds.  Once it is completely melted, add your bacon bits and stir those in.  Pour the mixture in to the pan lined with foil and cover it up.  Pop it in the fridge for about 2 hours or until it is firm enough to cut.  The fudge should be fairly easy to remove from the pan once it’s firm.  Peel off the foil and cut in to small cubes.  You can store it for later, just put wax paper between the layers for easy removal when you need it.

Bacon-wrapped Twinkies

Ingredients:

• One box of Twinkies
• One package of thinly sliced bacon
• Toothpicks
• Hot oil

Directions:

Heat your oil.  Remove plastic film from all the Twinkies and wrap one piece of bacon on each one.  Make sure to secure the bacon with a toothpick so it doesn’t fall off during frying.  Add one or two Twinkies to the oil at a time, making sure to turn them frequently so the bacon cooks evenly all the way around.  Once the bacon is cooked, it should be a golden brown, remove and let sit for cooling off.  Place the Twinkies on a baking cloth to drain off the excess oil.  Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks! Enjoy!!

Carmel-Bacon Candy Apples

Ingredients:

• 10-12 Granny Smith Apples or Gala Apples (for a sweeter taste)
• Wooden sticks
• 3/4 cup of butter
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup dark corn syrup
• 2 cups packed brown sugar (dark is best, but you can use the light)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (or more, depending on your taste) of cooked, minced bacon bits
• 3/4 cup of finely chopped pecans or Toffee bits (Optional)

Directions:

• Wash and dry apples; remove stems. Insert sticks into stem end of each apple. Line cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper and spray with cooking spray.
• Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and brown sugar.  Stir constantly until blended.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, so as not to burn the mixture.  Reduce heat to low for about 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly.  The candy thermometer needs to reach 225.  Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla. Stir again until completely absorbed in the mixture.  You can also use real caramel if you don’t want to do it this way.  That is entirely up to you!
• Dip each apple into “hot caramel” mixture, spooning over the apples to coat evenly. Allow excess caramel to drip off, spinning in a circle to keep as much on the apple as possible.  Place them on the wax paper.  Sprinkle immediately with bacon pieces.  IF you are also adding nuts or toffee bits as well, I recommend adding them to the bacon bits first, mixed them together, and then adding them to the apples.  This is much easier and they will stay on better.  Toss them in the fridge and chill 30-45 minutes minutes.  This allows the mixture to set on the apples.   When you are close to serving them, bring them out about 35-45 minutes before so they come to room temperature.   They are much easier to eat.  You can also slice them off of the wooden sticks as well – just make sure to take the seeds out before serving.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different dessert recipes you can try on here, plus a quick search on the internet will bring so much more.  No one ever thinks to use bacon in a dessert, but I can tell you, all these are fantastic and well worth a try!  As always, be sure to read through the entire recipe before starting it, so you don’t have a surprise half-way through the cooking stage.  Please let us know what you think about these recipes and let us know if you tried something different that you will liked.  We are all about new ideas!  Happy cooking!