Candied Bacon Crackers

Christmastime is still being enjoyed at my house. 

Have you taken your decorations down?  I'm not ready to and will leave them up until the Epiphany.

My daughter made me this festive board from scrap wood .  Isn't it pretty?

This dish stack was used on my kitchen table this year and I like the mix of patterns.  I'll never not use the Furio Christmas dishes that my beloved hubby and I searched for at different Target stores when me moved to Texas in the mid 1980's.  The plate below the salad plate is Johnson Bros Old Britain Castles.

A latte mug of Fiesta Spice tea was the perfect accompaniment to my snack.

I have been wanting to make these bacon topped Club Crackers for several years and finally made them.

Yield: I made 33 crackers

Author: Kitty, but adapted from Southern Living

Candied Bacon Crackers

This is a great sweet and salty appetizer.

Ingredients

• 33 Club Crackers (not quite a whole sleeve of crackers)
• 11 slices of bacon, cut into thirds (3 1/4 to 3 1/2" pieces)
• 3 tablespoons of pure Maple syrup
• Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place an oven safe rack on top.
3. Lay out the crackers on top of the rack.
4. Lay the cut bacon lengthwise on top of the cracker, and tuck the overhang under the edge of the cracker.
5. Using a pastry brush, brush 2 tablespoons of maple syrup on top of the bacon; add a few grinds of pepper.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes ( I did mine for about 50 because I wanted them crispier). Remove from the oven and brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup on top. Let cool.

Notes

Some recipes call for a little brown sugar on top of the bacon, but I read that sometimes the sugar doesn't all caramelize. I thought the maple syrup worked out great.

Also, some recipes wrap the bacon around the middle of the cracker and they look like little bows, which is cute.

To do ahead, you can store them in the fridge for two days and then warm them up in a 300 degree oven for a few minutes to serve them, or use an air fryer to crisp them up. You also can freeze the crackers and take out when needed, thaw and crisp them up.

Riley, who is stationed in the army in South Korea, made a surprise visit for Christmas!  I was in on the secret, but kept my word and didn't tell.  He wanted to be at my house for our Christmas party which we had on the 19th, because Kevin, Kristen, Harper and Hayden left for Colorado on the 20th.  He came and helped me set up all the gifts and got ready for the party.  I told Molly that I needed her here to help me, and she came a little early.  She was ecstatic when she saw Riley!  She was crying, jumping for joy, laughing and more happy tears.

It was a joyful evening of family, good food, love, laughter, and happiness.

Harper and Hayden enjoy being in Durango and decorated their own Santa pancakes by themselves.  7 year old Hayden lost a front tooth out on the ski slope, and 10 year old Harper is "scary good" according to my son, and has gone down two black diamond slopes! 

My whole entire family was here, plus two of the grandsons' girlfriends.  We got this picture in ONE TAKE!  Mike taped his phone to the fireplace and hit the timer.  

Thank you for your visits throughout the year and Happy 2025!  

I'm sharing with these parties:

Talking About It Tuesdays

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage