Does thinking about salty-sweet bacon make your heart skip a beat? Try these easy bacon sweet recipes and discover new taste sensations for your favourite food.

Seven recipes to make amazing bacon sweets

I’m talking bacon jam, bacon sweeties (yes, this involves chocolate), bacon peanut brittle, sweet bacon and cinnamon rolls, and drum roll, bacon and cashew caramel popcorn. Who knew the humble rasher could be so versatile? You’ve had it for breakfast with eggs, on top of a pizza for dinner or a BLT for lunch, but now it is going where few other meat products have gone before – dessert.

In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, “Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend – fudge.”

Maple bacon baklava

Maple Bacon Baklava

You’ve tried baklava filled with chopped nuts between layers of crisp filo pastry, all sweetened with honey.  But what if you added a savoury element to the mix? Bacon is the perfect partner in this collaboration and you’ll be impressed by the results.  Here is the recipe.

Bacon Jam

This subtle bacon sweet flavour will add another dimension to your sandwiches.

  • 450g smoked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha or hot sauce
  • ½ cup coffee
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Extra water

Method

  1. Fry the bacon in batches until lightly browned and beginning to crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
  2. Fry the onion and garlic in another pot with a little olive oil on medium heat until translucent.
  3. Add the bacon to the onions and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients and half a cup of water. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring regularly. Add water if needed.
  4. Jam is done when you can’t tell the onions from the bacon.
  5. Cool for about 15-20 minutes and then place in a food processor. Pulse for 2-3 seconds so that you leave some texture to the “jam”. Refrigerate up to two weeks.

Sweet Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

This sweet bacon recipe turns the traditional cinnamon roll into a total crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups self-raising flour
  • 4 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ cup bacon, finely chopped and fried

Method

  1. Combine the cream, cinnamon, two tbsp brown sugar and self-raising flour in a bowl until it forms a dough.
  2. Dust a chopping board with self-raising flour and roll out the dough in a long strip about 5mm thick.
  3. Sprinkle the bacon and rest of the brown sugar onto the dough and then roll the dough over itself to form spirals of sugar and bacon.
  4. Cut the roll into 3cm pieces and place in a baking dish on the spiral side, leaving enough space for each of them to expand.
  5. Brush some extra cream on top and bake in the oven at 200C (fan or regular) for 12-15 minutes (or until golden).

Bacon Sweeties

Ever thought about combining bacon and chocolate? Boy, have you been missing out!  One of the top bacon recipes around, Bacon Sweeties proves it’s a match made in heaven.

Ingredients

  • 8 slices thick-cut bacon
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chocolate melts
  • ½ cup slivered almonds

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place the bacon slices on the cooling rack. Sprinkle with sugar.
  2. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until desired crispness.
  3. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a microwave or on the stove.
  4. Drizzle strips of bacon with melted chocolate and sprinkle with almonds.

Bacon and Cashew Caramel Popcorn

How good is this bacon recipe?  You can even eat bacon while sitting on the couch watching a movie!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup of unpopped popcorn kernels
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 170 grams bacon, chopped
  • ½ cup unsalted raw cashews
  • 1   tsp of coarse salt or coarse sea salt
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
  • Olive oil or vegetable oil spray
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2   tbsp light corn syrup (optional)

Method

  1. Heat popcorn and oil in a covered heavy large pot over medium-high heat until kernels begin to pop. Hold the lid on the pot and shake the pan until popping stops. Place the popcorn into a very large bowl.
  2. Cook the bacon until almost crisp, drain and cool. Add cashews to bowl with popcorn, then sprinkle with coarse salt and cayenne pepper and toss to coat.
  3. Line a rimmed baking tray with foil and coat with oil. Coat two wooden spoons or heat-resistant spatulas with non-stick spray; set aside.
  4. Stir sugar, ¼ cup of water, and corn syrup (optional) in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high; boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally swirling the pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush for about 13 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add cream; stir until blended.
  5. Immediately drizzle caramel over popcorn mixture; toss using the sprayed spoons until evenly coated. Transfer to a sheet.
  6. Cool completely on a sheet on a rack, occasionally tossing to break up large clumps.

Bacon Peanut Brittle 

Bacon and peanuts come together in this creation which will win a top spot on your bacon recipes list.

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 50g butter
  • ¾ cup unsalted, roasted peanuts
  • 200g streaky bacon
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup brown sugar

Method

  1. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread streaky bacon out in one layer. Drizzle half the maple syrup over it. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar. Place under the grill for approx. 10 minutes.
  2. Take out of the oven and turn over.
  3. Drizzle the remaining maple syrup over the bacon. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over. Return to the oven and grill for another 10 minutes.
  4. Keep a close eye on this as it may burn. Remove from the tray and drain on a wire rack until cooled. Chop into small pieces.
  5. Line a 25cm x 40cm rectangular tray with baking paper.
  6. Spread peanuts and crispy bacon over the baking paper as desired.
  7. Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and then bring to the boil.
  8. Gently boil, (occasionally brushing the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent sugar crystals from forming) for 25 minutes or until a rich golden colour (148° on a sugar thermometer).
  9. Immediately remove from the pan and stir in the butter with a wooden spoon. Quickly pour the toffee over the peanuts and bacon in the tray.
  10. Set aside to cool and set. Break the brittle into desired sizes.

Are you a pork lover?

Here’s the best recipe for a crunchy, fight over pork roast with crackling.