5 Sweet and Savory Treats Featuring Bacon

Last Updated on January 30, 2025

Desserts are often just one note, all sweet — and while that can be delicious, it sometimes lacks a certain complexity. Enter bacon: With its crisp texture and salty, savory flavor, it can make for a truly ideal dessert enhancer.

Just as a pinch of flaky salt can wake up a dessert, so can a bit of bacon, whether you’re making a fruit dessert, a chocolate treat, or something else. Here are some of our favorite bacon-infused sweets.

Bacon-chocolate mini cupcakes

These grownup cupcakes feature chopped bacon in the tender, stout-infused chocolate cake and bacon grease in the frosting. They’re sweet and savory, rich and luscious. Garnish with more bacon and/or chopped-up chocolate-covered toffee bits.

Bacon shortbread cookies

Are they cookies, or crackers? The answer is: Yes. Serve them with other cookies for dessert, put them on a charcuterie board — they can fit in wherever you like. Use the rendered fat in the dough as well as folding in chopped bacon. Try drizzling them with very dark chocolate for even more decadence.

Grain-free maple bacon and apple Dutch baby

Here’s a memorable Sunday brunch dish that melds sweet, savory and fruit in one fluffy baked pancake. Crunchy bits of bacon perfectly balance the sweetness of the apple and maple syrup. Serve this with more syrup on the side, or with plain Greek yogurt.

Bacon peanut butter truffles

These truffles are every bit as rich, delicious and indulgent as they sound. Chop up bacon, combine it with sweetened peanut butter, roll into balls and dip in melted chocolate. These make a perfect gift for someone special (it’s ok if that special someone is yourself!). Keep them in the fridge or freezer for chocolate “emergencies.”

Bacon caramel apples

Here’s a kid-friendly treat that grownups will love, too. Dip apples in melted caramel, then dunk into a bowl of finely chopped crispy bacon. The hardest part about this recipe is waiting for the caramel to set.