Candied Bacon Fudge

Happy "Pi" Day everyone! I got a little ahead of myself yesterday thinking it was the 14th. I was so excited to have not missed a fun holiday that I posted a day early :). So, here we are on national "pi" day and I'm posting fudge. But, it's Candied Bacon Fudge! Does it get better than that? I'm not really sure, since I personally haven't tried it seeing as how I don't eat bacon. But I have several taste testers who honestly tell me if it's postable and they all had positive reactions to this little square of delight.

The bacon is baked in the oven with butter, vanilla, and brown sugar, then layered in the middle of the fudge so that every bite has a little sweet candied bacon flavor with the rich chocolate fudge. If I ate meat, this would sound amazing to me! As you probably know, I don't cook with meat often. When I do (as I have several times for recipes of here) it's always bacon. Bacon just goes so well with sweet desserts and jams to add another element. I've made candied bacon ice cream (I need a new picture) and Bourbon Bacon Jam (yes, you should too!). Fudge is a nice addition to those bacon filled treats, don't you think? Maybe next I will try brownies or cookies filled with bacon for my husband and son (the resident bacon lovers who eat all of these treats).

I did take out about 1/4 cup of the fudge and put it into a little bowl for myself instead of in the pan so that I could have some too. I'm glad I did because I really love this fudge, it's so smooth and creamy. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Candied Bacon Fudge
Serves 36 (8” x 8” dish)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), softened
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar

- 7 pieces bacon, uncooked
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Boil the mixture for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
2. Pour the cocoa mixture into a bowl (or 9” x 13” dish as I did), and let cool for 1 hour.
3. While the cocoa mixture is cooling, prepare the bacon. Lay out the bacon on a piece of non-stick foil (or foil that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray). In a small bowl, mix together the butter and vanilla. Brush the butter mixture onto the slices of bacon, flip the pieces, brush the other side of each piece. Sprinkle each piece of bacon evenly with 1 ½ teaspoons of light brown sugar.
4. Place the bacon in a cold oven set at 325F. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the bacon is golden brown and just starts to get crispy on the edges. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. Line an 8” x 8” pan with foil that is non-stick or lightly sprayed with non-stick spray, set aside. Stir the vanilla and the powdered sugar into the cocoa mixture until evenly blended.
6. Pour half of the fudge into the 8” x 8” pan. Lay the bacon pieces evenly over the fudge in the pan. Pour the other half of the fudge into the pan and spread smooth with a lightly greased spatula. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving. Store in refrigerator.
 
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