Over Thanksgiving last year my aunt made this amazing Caramelized Bacon recipe and I’ve been thinking about it ever since! And because the holidays are just around the corner, I finally made it (and of course took pictures of the process) so you can have it for your Thanksgiving appetizer too!

You’ll need:

Thick-sliced applewood bacon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Begin by combining the brown sugar and pecans in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely ground.

Then add the salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper and pulse again until everything is combined.

Finally add the maple syrup and, you guessed it, pulse again until everything is combined.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top. Then cut your bacon strips in half and arrange them on the baking rack.

Now take the mixture and spread it across the bacon. If it’s not spreading easily wet your fingers and spread it by hand.

Then bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes until your bacon looks like this:

Place the bacon onto a paper towel-covered plate to cool.

Then serve at room temperature!

There’s no better holiday appetizer than bacon!

~A