Description
not your average candied nuts; these spicy candied nuts with bacon are amped up with tons of flavor from center-cut bacon, brown sugar, maple syrup, chili powder, & kosher salt, making them the perfect sweet & savory snack
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups favorite nuts, toasted (I use 1 cup each pecans & walnuts)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 lb center cut bacon
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place bacon on a parchment lined backing sheet.
- In a small bowl, make the candying mixture, mixing the brown sugar, chili powder, cayenne pepper, & kosher salt.
- Sprinkle half the candying mixture over the top of the bacon & par-bake the bacon at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
- While the bacon is baking, combine the toasted nuts with the remaining candying mixture & maple syrup in a medium bowl.
- Once the bacon is par-baked , chop it into bite-sized pieces & add to the nut mixture.
- Arrange the nut & bacon mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer to ensure even cooking time.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes rotating the baking sheet every 5 minutes, until golden & bubbly.
- Once cool enough to handle, break the candied nuts & bacon into bite sized pieces & enjoy!
Notes
- 1. always candy things on parchment paper. i’ve made the unfortunate mistake of candying both the bacon & the bacon + nuts mixture for this recipe on foil & the result is a sad & impossibly sticky mess. you’ll spend an hour pulling teeny tiny bits of foil off your treat! not fun. not delicious. just don’t do it.
- 2. depending on the hot spot situation that you have in your oven, you’ll want to rotate your nuts pretty frequently as they candy. i bake mine on the middle rack & aim to rotate mine every 5 minutes.
- 3. store nuts in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge.