Candied bacon and nuts. “Man Candy”. It couldn’t possibly be called anything else. Ridiculously addictive. Easy to make. Be careful who you make this for!
It is rare to meet a bloke who doesn’t love bacon. It is like men are genetically programmed to be obsessed with bacon. And beer, for that matter. And beef. Did I just figure out the holy trinity for men? Beer, Beef and Bacon.
This candy doesn’t have beef or beer in it. I did make a version with beer, but it was more effort to make, you couldn’t actually taste the beer in it and it had a much thicker candy coating which I thought made it far too sweet.
This one is super simple to make. It is actually a recipe by Sunny Anderson (an American celebrity chef) which she calls Bacon Bark. I changed the name because after 3 attempts to make it, it never came out like “bark” and I am not convinced it could because there is simply not enough toffee/candy to spread and hold the bacon and nuts together. It does stick together in chunks, but not like “bark”.
So I thought candy was a more suitable name for it. It’s like candied nuts – but with bacon added. You can break it up completely, all leave it in bigger chunks (which I prefer).
The ingredients are exactly the same as Sunny’s recipe but I rewrote it with more instructions so you can benefit from my failed efforts. The first time I made it, it didn’t come out like candy, more like a sticky caramel. This was because there was too much bacon fat, so I added the step to drain excess fat off the baking tray before adding the nuts. The second time I made it, I didn’t use baking / parchment paper which the recipe said was optional, but it’s definitely necessary because otherwise the toffee gets stuck on the baking tray.
Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Homemade Man Candy. Now that’s a priceless gift!
– Nagi
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Man Candy: Candied Bacon and Nuts
Ingredients
Candied Bacon
- 6 slices centre cut or middle bacon (about 200g / 6 oz) (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or normal)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (Note 2)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (Note 2)
- 1 lemon , zest only
- Pinch of salt
- Black pepper (3 grinds)
Candied Nuts
- 1 cup pecans , roughly chopped
- 1 cup walnuts , roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or normal)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (Note 2)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (Note 2)
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- Black pepper (3 grinds)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper (parchment paper).
- Cut the bacon into 1.5cm / 0.6" pieces (remove rind if it has it).
- Combine with remaining Candied Bacon ingredients in a bowl and use your fingers to coat the bacon.
- Combine the Candied Nuts ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.
- Spread the Candied Bacon onto a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until the sugar is bubbling and the bacon is starting to turn brown (i.e. almost cooked).
- Remove the bacon from the tray using a slotted spatula (so you don't get too much bacon fat) and transfer it into the bowl with the nuts. Mix to combine.
- Use a spatula to scrape and pour the excess oil off the parchment paper (this is what I did).
- Pour the nuts back onto the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, stirring once at half time.
- Turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Leave for at least 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.
- Break the candy into chunks. To store, place into an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator. (Note 4)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
OMG! Like I need this while on partial lockdown, rainy weather and the gym is closed! Not! Used pecan halves and cashews, hot smoked paprika AND cayenne. SO good! I wonder if drizzling it with chocolate would be too much? 😉.
We made this to go on ice cream, unbelievably good!
OH YES! I’m going to have to do this!
I absolutely love everything about your website, your recipes, your notes, your funny comments and your beautiful dog!
I used to be a big fan of the Foodnetwork, until I found one of your recipes. Thank you and keep up the good work.
I am definitely going to make the Christmas Cheese Log next week. My husband is Italian and he would love it!
Thanks so much Victoria! I’ve eaten way too much of it the last week – it’s just that good! I hope you love it too!
I have been making this for a while, before finding your recipe. How I do it, is i buy the thick sliced bacon, and I place it in the oven in complete slices, on the parchment paper, and cook it until it is about 2/3 cooked. I take it out and let it cool. when it is cool, i place a rack on the cookie sheet and place the bacon strips on it. so any remaining fat will drip down off it onto the paper below. I put the brown sugar, spices and pecans in a food processor and pulse it just until the pecans are in small pieces. I then spread it on a piece of waxed paper and coat the bacon slices in it and place them back on the rack. I then put it back in the oven to finish baking until crispy and bubbling.
when cool, you can break it into small pieces, or eat it as is.
That’s a great tip!! Is that your own recipe or did you find Sunny’s recipe too and “fix” it?
no, its my own actually. i was watching a tv show and they talked about candied bacon, and i wondered if it was a real thing, lol cause i had never heard of it and I LOVE bacon hahaha. So when I googled it, and read a few ways of making it i set about making my own version.
P.S. I would use smoked paprika – another thing I’m obsessed with (oh, and then there is chipotle powder)… 🙂
Same here! I LOVE the smokey flavour 🙂
Hi Nagi! Don’t know I missed this post! I agree with the comments above – Woman candy!! Then again, you know how I obsess over bacon! I start to panic when my bacon stash starts running low!
ME TOO! I always ALWAYS have a stash in the freezer. If you have bacon, you always have a meal on hand!!
yum yum it sounds perfect. i love bacon with sweet things.!
Me too! Bacon candy is awesome!! 🙂