I want to end this most successful blogging year with a bang. What better way to ring in the New Year that with a candy full of unique flavor? And it is yet another recipe in our Bacon Week! The previous posts include:
Bacon Week Part 1: Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!
Bacon Week Part 2: Bacon Salt
Bacon Week Part 3: Beer and Bacon Mac and Cheese
Bacon Week Part 4: Bacon Wrapped Smokies
Bourbon, Caramel, Marshmallow, Bacon Bark (from Endless Simmer)
- 16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 cups of mini marshmallows
- ¼ cup bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
- 1 cup caramel (recipe follows)
- 1 cup of spiced bacon crumble (recipe follows)
Line an 8×8 inch glass pan with parchment of wax paper with 1 inch overhang on each side. Melt semi-sweet chips. Pour half into lined pan, spreading the chocolate until smooth and evenly distributed. Chill until chocolate becomes solid.
In a saucepan, heat marshmallows until the become stringy and sticky. Remove from heat and add in bourbon; stir to combine. Spread marshmallow mixture over solid chocolate.
At this point, make the caramel (look below for instructions). Pour finished caramel over marshmallow layer. Spread until smooth. Chill for about 5 minutes or until caramel becomes slightly hardened. Pour remaining half of melted semi-sweet chocolate over caramel layer and spread until smooth. Gently press the bacon crumble (recipe below) into the chocolate. Chill until solid. Use a sharp knife to cute the bark into pieces. Refrigerate bark to extend it’s shelf life.
Bacon Crumble
- 16 oz bacon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoon water
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Cook bacon and set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, coarsely crumble bacon with hand; set aside and heat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine sugar and water in a pot and heat until sugar is dissolved. Toss crumbled bacon in sugar syrup to coat. Drain coated bacon with a strainer to remove excess syrup. Whisk an egg white until fluffy and foamy. Sprinkle in black pepper and cayenne. Add in bacon and toss to coat. Spread bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool, then crumble bacon one last time.
Caramel Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons water
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 7 tablespoon heavy cream
Combine sugar and water into a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to high. Periodically, using the handle, give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute. As the mixture darkens to a medium amber color, approximately 5-7 minutes, add the butter and heavy cream to saucepan. The mixture will bubble wildly. Whisk to combine (bubbles will subside upon cooling). Set aside to cool completely.
AnnaShortcakes 