Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites
Our Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites, AKA Pig Candy, makes a unique holiday gift for bacon-lovers!
Drool-worthy, swoon-tastic, slap yo’ mamma, spicy-salty-sweet pig candy happening today!
What? You’ve never heard of Pig Candy?
This simple 5-ingredient candied bacon recipe makes a marvelous topping for all sorts of dishes. It’s also a tantalizing sinful snack and edible gift for the holidays!
Our Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites are crisp and glossy, coated in a sweet brown sugar bourbon glaze.
They are baked on a rack, until all the fat drips off and the glaze hardens, leaving crunchy, chewy, porky perfection!
Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites make surprising edible gifts this season. Package them in cellophane bags with a tag that offers ideas of how to enjoy them.
How should one enjoy them, one might ask?
Well, I just like to shovel them in my mouth by the fist-full. However, they provide that little extra something to creamy soups, salads, snack mixes, chocolate desserts, and as a garnish for pasta or risotto dishes!
Truly, Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites make everything taste better.
To Make Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites
Mix brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla extract, and crushed red pepper in a bowl.
Cut the bacon into squares and toss it in the bourbon mixture. Mix well to coat.
Place the bacon squares on the wire racks. Bake for 40-60 minutes, until the bacon is brick-red and crisp. The exact cooking time depends on the thickness of your bacon.
The bacon will still be a little flexible while it’s hot, but should quickly cool into dry pieces that are crisp on both sides. You can take a piece out of the oven and cool it to test for doneness.
Skip the cookies this year!
Take Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites to your cookie exchange party and watch your friends gobble them down. There’s a good chance they won’t make it out the door!
More Amazing Holiday Snacks
Chocolate Toffee Christmas Crack
Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetable Stacks
Apple Pie Cream Cheese Wontons
Check out our recipe card below!
Our Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces thick-cut bacon
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with foil or parchment paper. Then set a wire baking rack on each sheet.
- Mix the brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla, and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Cut the bacon into squares and toss it in the bourbon mixture. Mix well to coat.
- Place the bacon squares on the wire racks. Brush additional bourbon mixture over the bacon, saving the rest for later. Bake for 40-60 minutes, until the bacon is brick-red and crisp. Brush the bacon with the remaining bourbon glaze halfway through baking. (Cooking time depends on the thickness of your bacon.)
- The bacon will still be a little flexible while it's hot, but should quickly cool into dry pieces that are crisp on both sides. You can take a piece out of the oven and cool it to test for doneness. Cool the bacon to room temperature, then serve or package for gifts! (Crisp dry Pig Candy can sit out at room temperature for up to 3 days. But feel free to keep it in the refrigerator, just to be safe.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this recipe a few years ago and it was a hit, I’m going to make again this year but would like to skewer the bacon, think that’ll work?
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made them in December for a holiday gathering and they were gobbled up! I just put a batch in the oven now because I realized I had a pack of Wright’s Bacon that was at the sell-by date. I’m sure most of them will be devoured within a few days but I’m curious if you’ve ever frozen them? It would be great to keep some in the freezer for salads, etc., if they work for that.
I’m gonna make them for Christmas. If they’re a hit, I’ll take ’em to work for my Birfday.
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I tried this as an appetizer on Christmas day. Wow! These got rave reviews from my guests. So easy, and love that it can be made in advance. Thank yiu!
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