Bacon Caramels

Sure, your first thought might be, "bacon caramels?! That sounds awful!" But let's just think about this for a minute....

It's Sunday morning, your enjoying a cup of coffee with your breakfast while reading the paper. You're most important meal of the day consists of a shortstack of pancakes with a side of bacon. As you're flipping through the sports section you reach for a piece of bacon that decided to get a little to close to the syrup on your plate. Mmmm, maple-bacon goodness! EUREKA! That is exactly what bacon caramels can do for your tastebuds and you don't even need make breakfast!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup heavy cream, divided (1/2 goes in first, 1/2 goes in later)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 8 pieces of bacon fried until crispy
• You will also need a candy thermometer. You can pick these up for just a few dollars at the store.

Directions:

• Fry up your bacon and make sure it's really crispy. Once cool, crumble your bacon and set aside.
• Combine all ingredients except bacon and 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a medium sauce pan. Stir to combine.
• Set on medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the temp reaches 240* (this took longer than I thought so hang in there. Also, the mixture really bubbles up crazy and you think it's going to burn but that's normal! Just keep on bubblin' until you hit the 240*)
• Remove from the stove and carefully stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cream. Place back on the stove and continue to cook until 245*
• Once reaching that temp, immediately remove from heat and stir in a portion of the crispy bacon.
• Pour the caramel into a buttered 9x13 dish.
• Scatter the remaining bacon on top and let set for at least 3 hours before cutting.

No joke, these are awesome! The salty/sweet combo is fantastic. But hey, if you're still weirded out by the bacon, just leave it out. This will serve as your basic caramel recipe regardless.

Source: Wan