With the impending holidays, we’ve been brushing up on our recipes to wow our distant relatives.  A good friend of ours passed along a recipe from Food and Wine that is wonderfully simple and decadently delighting to all who try it, candied bacon.

We tested it out this weekend at a Friendsgiving (Franksgiving to our comrades), and the result was better than expected. This is the perfect appetizer or snack to prime your stomachs for the feast to follow.

Now keep in mind, this is best made earlier in the day and left at room temperature, to set before serving.  Here’s what you need:

1 ½ pounds of thick-cut Applewood Smoked Bacon (best to get this fresh cut from the butcher, sliced about ¾ to 1 inch thick).

½ cup of packed light brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons of chile powder

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil. Mix the brown sugar and chile in a small bowl. Arrange the bacon strips on the foil and coat the tops with and cover the tops with the chile sugar. Bake for 20 minutes (or until caramelized and crisp, make sure to keep and eye on these as the thickness of the strips changes the cooking time). Transfer the bacon to a rack set over a sheet of foil to catch the drippings, and cool completely. Once the bacon is cooled, slice into smaller strips and serve.

Watch your guest drool over these little treats, and rejoice in the small amount of work that went into it.

Image Credits: Bacon Prep and Bacon Cooling